Richard Meservey worked for many years as an employee at the Idaho Falls laboratory.
He received a B.A. in physics at Western Illinois University, specializing in nuclear physics. He then attended Utah State for graduate school. Upon his completion of schooling at Utah State, Meservey was hired at the Idaho Falls laboratory where he worked on projects related to a variety of nuclear reactors. He eventually transferred to a program within the laboratory and began working in decontamination and decommissioning, where he continued throughout the remainder of his career.