Oral Histories

Irwin P. Sharpe was recruited for the Manhattan Project by his employer, General Electric, after he graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in engineering. His work took place in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan, where he played a key role in developing special vacuum pumps and seals to handle fluorine and uranium hexafluoride. He and his team encountered several challenges to create the proper equipment and maintain the standard of cleanliness and tightness. He recalls his interactions with his fellow engineers, as they raced to solve the problems presented to them by the physicists and chemists. He made trips to Oak Ridge to test the products that they developed in Manhattan. Sharpe came in contact with several key figures of the Manhattan Project, including General Groves and key physicists and engineers. In this interview, he describes the security and secrecy surrounding the project and addresses the debate over the bomb that still exists today.

Arthur Squires was a chemical engineer and participated in the design, construction, and operation of the K-25 diffusion plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Squires describes the lead developer, Percival Keith, as well as Manson Benedict, both of whom he credits as key contributors to the plant’s development. Squires discusses the impact of the K-25 plant, saying that without its development, it is likely that two atomic bombs would not have been ready into at least mid-1946. He also highlights the level of secrecy surrounding the work on the Manhattan Project. In 1946, Squires went on to work with Keith’s new company, Hydrocarbon Research.

Arthur Squires was born in Kansas and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from the University of Missouri, and went on to Cornell University for his graduate degree. He was a chemical engineer and participated in the design, construction, and operation of the K-25 diffusion plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, working under Percival Keith and Manson Benedict. In this interview, Squires recounts how he contributed to the scientific research and problem-solving that helped make the K-25 plant possible. In the discussion, Stephane Groueff asks Squires about his relationships with the other scientists, developers, and academic teams.