John Tempka (1923-2017) was an American engineer.
Tempka was born in Boydsville, Ohio. He was studying at the University of Detroit when he was recruited to join the U.S. Army. As part of the 9812th Technical Service Unit, Tempka was trained to serve in the Special Engineer Detachment (SED), instruction which included a course taught by Manhattan Project physicist Hans Bethe.
In 1944, Tempka was assigned to Los Alamos. During his time there, he researched explosives and castings for the “Fat Man” plutonium bomb. Tempka’s friend and fellow SED Ralph Gates later remembered, “Back then, Johnny and I were just a couple of young recruits, assigned to top-secret work and doing whatever the famous scientists asked of us.”
After the war, Tempka completed his B.S. at the University of Detroit and went on to earn an M.S. in engineering from Northwestern University. He was hired to work as an engineer for Motorola, a position he would hold for more than 40 years.
John Tempka died on July 18, 2017, in Glenview, Illinois.