James C. Hobbs’s Interview – Part 3
J.C. Hobbs was an American inventor and engineer who created a key part of the valves used in the K-25 gaseous diffusion plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Hobbs was brought on to the Manhattan Project by the head of the Kellex Corporation, Percival Keith, to improve the piping system in the K-25 plant. In part three of his interview with Stephane Groueff, Hobbs discusses the key role he played in troubleshooting problems for K-25 and for other power plants across the country. He emphasizes the importance of the efficiencies he introduced at K-25, and describes some of the technical challenges he and his colleagues faced.