Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Jack Schubert was an American chemist and Manhattan Project scientist. ​He was born on September 14, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois. He studied Chemistry and Mathematics at the University of Chicago, graduating in 1940. He then earned his Ph.D. there in 1944.

In 1941, Jack Schubert was working as an analytical chemist at the Charlestown Ordnance Works when he received a call from his graduate professor, Dr. G. E. Boyd, inviting him to participate in a secret defense project at the University of Chicago. Early the next year, Schubert joined the Metallurgical Laboratory as a “Research Chemist.” His analytical group was focused on chemical analyses of urnanium oxide ore and devising methods for removing impurities.

Schubert also spent extra time working on methods to extract and separate plutonium from irradiated uranium and fission products. He eventually decided to employ a procedure known as chromatography, which he had derived from his experience before the Manhattan Project. In late 1942, Schubert was tasked with establishing a micro analytical control lab at Metal Hydrides in Massachusetts. He and his team spent a few weeks at MIT and at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington. D.C. before setting up the lab and by the time they returned to Chicago, Enrico Fermi had created the first sustained nuclear chain reaction.

Schubert and the Met Lab plutonium absorption team were transferred to Oak Ridge in 1943, where they remained for the majority of the war. Schubert’s team was kept separate from the uranium operation at Oak Ridge and instead worked on testing their Chicago methods on a pilot plant scale. In March of 1945, Schubert felt his team had accomplished its goals, so he returned to the University of Chicago to do biomedical research on the effects of atomic radiation.

 

After the Manhattan Project

​After the war, Schubert went on to have a long and successful career, working in numerous positions. 

In 1947, Schubert conducted radiochemical reports at Bikini Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, for  the U.S. Navy. He also became a Senior Chemist at the Argonne National Lab in 1948. Throughout his career, he worked with the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), with the Argonne Lab, and with the Ford Foundation in Argentina. His scientific research has been published in numerous journals. He went on to become a Professor, teaching at the University of Minnesota, the University of Chicago, the University of Frankfurt, and the University of Pittsburgh. 

Schubert also advocated for peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and for nuclear safety. In 1955, he served as a U.S. Delegate to the First International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, hosted in Geneva. Some of his research and academic papers focused on: nuclear safety, radiation and its effects on humans and the environment, surface chemistry, metal poisoning, methods of removing radioactive contamination, and nuclear fallout hazards. He wrote over 100 scientific publications and patents.

Jack Schubert’s Timeline
1917 Sep 14th Born in Chicago.

1940 Earned Bachelor of Science Degree, focused on Chemistry, from the University of Chicago.

19401942 Worked as an Analytical Chemist at the Burgess Battery Company and the Charleston Ordnance Works.

1941 Asked to leave his position at Charlestown Ordnance Works for a secret defense project at the University of Chicago Met Lab.

1942 Sep1942 Dec Established a micro analytical control lab for Metal Hydrides in Massachusetts.

1943 Moved to Oak Ridge to analyze large scale absorption methods.

1944 Earned Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago.

1945 Mar Returned to University of Chicago to conduct biomedical research.

19451947 Worked at the Clinton Labs, at Oak Ridge.

1947 Went to Bikini Atoll, for the U.S. Navy, to conduct radiochemical surveys and gather data about the effects of U.S. nuclear testing.

19471948 Worked as an Assistant Professor of Physiological Chemistry at the University of Minnesota.

1948 Became a Senior Chemist at the Argonne National Lab.

19511955 Worked part time as a Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Chicago.

1954 Served as the Chairman of the Gordon Research Conference on Ion Exchange.

1955 Served as the U.S. Delegate to the First International Conference on the Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy.

19561957 Worked in Zurich, Switzerland, as a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow.

19591960 Worked as a Visiting Professor at the University of Frankfurt.

19611963 Worked as a Visiting Professor of Chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires.

19611963 Worked as a part time consultant in Science and Engineering for Argentina and Chile, at the Ford Foundation.

19631964 Worked as a consultant in Radiation and Radiochemistry for the Argentine Atomic Energy Commission.

1965 Became a Professor of Radiation Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.

2007 Jun 21st Passed away.

Working at Bikini Atoll. 

Working at Bikini Atoll. 

Back and Atom.

Jack center.

1947, At Bikini Atoll.

Bikini Resurvey Project Card.

1975 Argonne Lab Conference. Schubert is standing in the front row, fifth from the left side.

1955 AEC Letter to Schubert.

AEC Certificate.

Related Profiles

Clifford C. McCutcheon

Tinian Island

Clifford C. McCutcheon served in the 1st Ordnance Squadron. 

E. L. Pleninger

Hanford, WA

P. J. Moroz

Hanford, WA

Frank Spedding

Ames, IA

Frank Spedding (1902-1984) was a Canadian American chemist. Before the war, Spedding’s claim to fame was developing a process to purify and separate rare earth elements using ion exchange resins.