Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

William S. Hartnett

Plutonium MetallurgyHanford, WA

Manhattan Project Veteran
The first large-scale nuclear reactor in history, the B-Reactor, in Hanford, Washington

Bill Hartnett worked in plutonium metallurgy for the Manhattan Project at the Hanford Engineer Works from January 1943 to December 1946. Despite his professional title, Hartnett would frequently refer to himself as a "glorified foundryman." Following the end of the Manhattan Project, Hartnett stayed at Hanford for another thirty years, leaving in April 1975. 

Related Profiles

Jean A. (Jackson) Robinson

Chicago, IL

Jean A. (Jackson) Robinson was a research assistant in the Health Division of the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory (“Met Lab”) during the Manhattan Project.

Robert Donald Keen

Washington, DC

Robert Keen enlisted in the military on December 28, 1944 and began his training for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in January of 1945.

Ray Fraim

Oak Ridge, TN

B. B. Pewitt

Y-12 Plant

B. B. Pewitt worked for the Tennessee Eastman Corporation at the Y-12 Plant.