U.S. DOE-LM Acting Director Thomas Pauling, presented William Kistler “Bill” Coors with with the Energy Secretary’s Appreciation Award in Golden, CO.
December 12, 2016
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DENVER, Colo. – On December 2, 2016, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management Acting Director Thomas Pauling, presented William Kistler “Bill” Coors with the Energy Secretary’s Appreciation Award in Golden, Colorado. The award recognizes Mr. Coors’ historic role in providing critical insulators to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Manhattan Engineer District (also known as the Manhattan Project) during World War II.
While Mr. Coors may be best known for his beer brewed in the Rocky Mountains, few know about his contribution to World War II and the Cold War. In January 1943, General Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project, met with Y-12 Plant operators in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and insisted that the first calutrons needed to be built and operational within seven months. The enormous calutrons were needed for electromagnetically separating fissionable isotopes of uranium-235 from naturally occurring uranium, for use in atomic weapons. With such a tight schedule to build an untested technology, the Y-12 project experienced setbacks with insulators constantly breaking down due to the extremely high-voltage used by the calutrons.
Searching for a solution, Richard Condit from the Berkeley Lawrence Radiation Laboratory telephoned Mr. Coors of the Coors Porcelain Company in Golden. The company had the experience, expertise, and capacity to make the desperately needed, large quantities of high-quality ceramic insulators capable of handling the tremendous electrical loads produced by the calutrons. Mr. Coors accepted the request and immediately got to work.
Although Mr. Coors had no idea what his insulators were being used for, they arguably saved the Y-12 project from failure. By February 1944, Y-12 began sending uranium-235 to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to create the nation’s first atomic weapons. Mr. Coors celebrated his 100th birthday in August 2016.
Left to right: Colin Colverson, Oak Ridge Site Representative and Office of General Counsel; Padraic Benson, LM Historian; Tracy Atkins, LM Principal Representative for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park; Thomas Pauling, LM Acting Director. Seated: Bill Coors.
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