Herbert graduated from Cooper Union College. He held a BS in mechanical engineering and an MS in electrical engineering. He was working for an architectural engineering firm in NYC when he was released from his employment on January 18, 1943 to serve in an “essential industry.” He was contracted with Ford Bacon & Davis to work as a consulting engineer on the K-25 gaseous-diffusion uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He received a citation on August 6, 1945 from the Army Corps of Engineers, signed by the Secretary of War, for his work on the project.
After completion of his service on the Manhattan Project, he went on to design and develop the commercial nuclear-power generation facility at Indian Point on the Hudson River in New York, along with several fossil-fueled electrical power facilities around NYC, while he was employed by Con Ed (Consolidated Edison Corp) of New York. After his retirement and up until his death, he continued to consult for Burns & Roe, consulting on nuclear power plant design and construction in Nebraska and other places.