Ernest (Ernie) Tremmel was born on September 20, 1916 in Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. degree in civil engineering in 1941. He went on to work for the Corps of Engineers Manhattan District in Wilmington, DE, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, CA. While in Los Angeles, he worked in procurement, purchasing supplies to be sent to Los Alamos. In 1945, he worked directly with General Groves’ office expediting and procuring parts for the atomic bomb. He went on to work for the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1972, he formed his own company, Ernest B. Tremmel Inc. to serve as a consultant on nuclear power.
Tremmel lived a long and active life, and died in April 2015 at the age of 98.