Barbara B. Starner

Reactor OperatorLos Alamos, NM

Manhattan Project VeteranSpouse to Manhattan Project Worker

Barbara Brennan Joanides arrived in Los Alamos in May of 1945 with her husband who worked on the project.

Joanides worked at Omega Site as the first female reactor operator in Los Alamos, controlling the fuel rods by hand. After the war, she divorced and married John Starner, who she met at Omega Site. The couple had four children and lived a happy life in Los Alamos.

Barbara passed away in 1991.

Barbara B. Starner’s Timeline

1922 Born in Massachusetts.

1945 May Arrived in Los Alamos, where she worked as one of the first female reactor operators at Omega Site.

Related Profiles

David P. Halsey

Oak Ridge, TN

David Halsey worked for the J.A. Jones Construction Company.

August “Gus” Knuth

Chicago, IL

August “Gus” Knuth was a millwright and carpenter who helped construct Chicago Pile-1. He was present on December 2, 1942 when the pile went critical in the first self-sustaining chain reaction in history.

Nellie West

Los Alamos, NM

Herman L. Sturza

K-25 Plant

Attended the City College of New York.