National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Mary Lou Curtis joined the Manhattan Project in Dayton, Ohio in 1943. Mrs. Curtis worked in the Counting Room at Monsanto’s Unit III facility, where she developed new methods to measure and analyze radioactive materials, such as polonium, which was used as the trigger for the atomic bombs.
Melvin L. Dietrich worked as a welder and electrician in a number of facilities across the Oak Ridge, Tennessee facility.
During WWII, Atilio “Tee” Topazio was a member of the Special Engineer Detachment (SED) assigned to the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant at Oak Ridge, TN.
Dorothy worked at Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project as a “calutron girl.” After her brother was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, she was eager to join the war effort, and did so starting in 1944.
