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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

James Chapman

EngineerY-12 Plant

Project Worker/Staff
The Alpha Racetrack at the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennesee Listen to James Chapman’s Oral History on Voices of the Manhattan Project

James R. Chapman was an engineer working for Stone & Webster when he was recruited to work on the Manhattan Project. In early fall 1942, he was assigned to a team that would eventually design the Y-12 Electromagnetic Separation Plant at Oak Ridge. His mathematical background was essential in early planning stages; he was respobnsible for making educated guesses about the proper amounts of materials required to make the separation process work. 

 

James Chapman’s Timeline
1942 Joined “X Project” Team under the direction of Gus Klein. This was the name originally given to the team tasked with designing the Y-12 Plant.

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