Blog
How Women Helped Build the Atomic Bomb
This Women's History Month, we're showcasing the broad spectrum of women who contributed to the Manhattan Project.
Energy.gov
March 7, 2018
min
minute read time
Photo Title
Lise Meitner And the Discovery of Fission
Caption
From the beginning, women had to fight to have their work recognized. Lise Meitner -- pictured here receiving the Fermi Award in 1966 -- discovered nuclear fission with Otto Hahn in 1939. But six years later, only Hahn was given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery.
Photo Title
Leona Woods Marshall
Caption
Leona Woods Marshall was the youngest and only female member of Enrico Fermi's team at University of Chicago that created the first self-sustained nuclear reaction.
Photo Title
Women Processing War Bonds
Caption
An officer stands at a microphone, while women sitting at tables process bonds for the gathered crowd.
Photo Title
WAACs Taking A Break With A Game of Chinese Checkers
Caption
A group of members of the Women Army Air Force Corps, also called WAACs, relaxes with a game of Chinese checkers.
Photo Title
A Group of Army Corps Members & Nurses Pose for a Photograph
Caption
This photo includes Women's Army Corps, servicemen, and nurses in Oak Ridge, TN. Women also joined the Red Cross in large numbers during WWII.
Photo Title
Woman Welding at Oak Ridge
Caption
During the Manhattan Project, women weren't relegated to expected roles like nurse, teacher, and secretary. As seen here, women helped in a lot of other aspects of the project including welding, control panel management, and even nuclear science.
Photo Title
A "Calutron Girl" Sits At Her Station
Caption
Calutron workers were mostly 18-20 year old women, who were trained to watch the control panels on the machine and keep the dial between a certain number. Management cautioned male co-workers not to talk to female Y-12 workers as they monitored the controls.
Photo Title
Lise Meitner And the Discovery of Fission
Caption
From the beginning, women had to fight to have their work recognized. Lise Meitner -- pictured here receiving the Fermi Award in 1966 -- discovered nuclear fission with Otto Hahn in 1939. But six years later, only Hahn was given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery.
Lise Meitner And the Discovery of Fission
From the beginning, women had to fight to have their work recognized. Lise Meitner -- pictured here receiving the Fermi Award in 1966 -- discovered nuclear fission with Otto Hahn in 1939. But six years later, only Hahn was given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery.
Photo Title
Leona Woods Marshall
Caption
Leona Woods Marshall was the youngest and only female member of Enrico Fermi's team at University of Chicago that created the first self-sustained nuclear reaction.
Leona Woods Marshall
Leona Woods Marshall was the youngest and only female member of Enrico Fermi's team at University of Chicago that created the first self-sustained nuclear reaction.
Photo Title
Women Processing War Bonds
Caption
An officer stands at a microphone, while women sitting at tables process bonds for the gathered crowd.
Women Processing War Bonds
An officer stands at a microphone, while women sitting at tables process bonds for the gathered crowd.
Photo Title
WAACs Taking A Break With A Game of Chinese Checkers
Caption
A group of members of the Women Army Air Force Corps, also called WAACs, relaxes with a game of Chinese checkers.
WAACs Taking A Break With A Game of Chinese Checkers
A group of members of the Women Army Air Force Corps, also called WAACs, relaxes with a game of Chinese checkers.
Photo Title
A Group of Army Corps Members & Nurses Pose for a Photograph
Caption
This photo includes Women's Army Corps, servicemen, and nurses in Oak Ridge, TN. Women also joined the Red Cross in large numbers during WWII.
A Group of Army Corps Members & Nurses Pose for a Photograph
This photo includes Women's Army Corps, servicemen, and nurses in Oak Ridge, TN. Women also joined the Red Cross in large numbers during WWII.
Photo Title
Woman Welding at Oak Ridge
Caption
During the Manhattan Project, women weren't relegated to expected roles like nurse, teacher, and secretary. As seen here, women helped in a lot of other aspects of the project including welding, control panel management, and even nuclear science.
Woman Welding at Oak Ridge
During the Manhattan Project, women weren't relegated to expected roles like nurse, teacher, and secretary. As seen here, women helped in a lot of other aspects of the project including welding, control panel management, and even nuclear science.
Photo Title
A "Calutron Girl" Sits At Her Station
Caption
Calutron workers were mostly 18-20 year old women, who were trained to watch the control panels on the machine and keep the dial between a certain number. Management cautioned male co-workers not to talk to female Y-12 workers as they monitored the controls.
A "Calutron Girl" Sits At Her Station
Calutron workers were mostly 18-20 year old women, who were trained to watch the control panels on the machine and keep the dial between a certain number. Management cautioned male co-workers not to talk to female Y-12 workers as they monitored the controls.
Normally, when we write about the Manhattan Project -- the secret government program that built the atomic bomb -- we talk about the men that spearheaded it: Enrico Fermi, J. Robert Oppenheimer, General Leslie Groves. But from the discovery of the nuclear fission to the dropping of the bomb, women played many critical and often overlooked roles.
This Women's History Month, we're showcasing the broad spectrum of who those women were and what they did during the Manhattan Project. Over the course of this month, we'll highlight the accomplishments of five women who helped on the project with blogs and illustrations, release a timeline of their work, and cap off the month with a coloring book of all the illustrations.
In addition, our Grand Junction site in Colorado will host a presentation on women in the Manhattan Project next week, the Department of Energy site in Hanford, Washington will host a STEAM night with Leona Libby Middle School on March 26, and over in Tennessee the Manhattan Project National Historical Park will partner with the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge and the Girl Scouts to celebrate 75 years of Girl Scouts in Oak Ridge.
We're kicking it all off with this photo gallery.
In the photos above, you'll learn about Lise Meitner, who discovered nuclear fission while working with fellow chemist, Otto Hahn, but wasn't named when Hahn was given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work. You'll also find Leona Woods Marshall, the youngest member and only woman on Enrico Fermi's team of scientists that created the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction under Stagg Field at the University of Chicago.
Women played important roles across the Manhattan Project complex. They worked as nurses, teachers, librarians, and secretaries. They sold and processed war bonds, worked the desks at dormitories and post exchanges, welded, and even monitored the control panels of the calutron.
Scroll through the photos above for a closer look at just some of the jobs women took on during the Manhattan Project. Check back each Thursday throughout March, when we'll release our illustrations and blog posts.
Allison Lantero served as Digital Content Specialist in the Office of Public Affairs. She cohosted the Department of Energy's flagship podcast, Direct Current. Before joining the DOE team, Allison worked at the Department of Transportation in Public Affairs.
In her spare time Allison enjoys listening to podcasts, trivia, and singing in a gospel choir. She hails from Chicago and is currently in search of a decent italian beef sandwich in D.C.
