Military-Civilian Relations

Philip Abelson: My name is Philip Abelson. I was the son of two Norwegian immigrants. My father was born north of the Arctic Circle, and my mother was born in middle Norway. I visited the birthplaces of both of them. They were very wonderful parents. I couldn’t have had better parents. My father got his […]

Walter Goodman: My name is Walter Goodman and I was born in 1922, which is a very long time ago. I was particularly interested in engineering and in the military from the time I was a young boy. When I did get into the service, I ended up continuing in school, and finished electrical engineering. […]

Martin Sherwin: This is an interview with Dorothy McKibbin in Santa Fe, July 20, 1979. Dorothy McKibbin: Santa Fe? Sherwin: It sure is, but it’s not going to be my last. I’m enjoying it thoroughly. McKibbin: Great country. Sherwin: It is. It’s just beautiful, and, of course, we’re having such fantastic weather now. If I could put this— McKibbin: The most […]

Richard Rhodes: You said [Richard] Courant’s work added realism? Ted Taylor: Yeah. Rhodes: How so? Taylor: By going over various tricks for dealing with the discontinuities, the singularities in the hydrodynamics. I had the impression that he was very helpful to people like Bob Richtmyer. I don’t know that Richard himself came up with anything […]

Richard Rhodes: How did you get involved in the program? Marshall Rosenbluth: Well, you can probably guess. I’ve already told you that I was a student of [Edward] Teller’s. I was in the Navy during the war and then went back to the University of Chicago where my parents were living, to graduate school, and […]

Stephane Groueff: [Enrico] Fermi was not considered as a foreigner? William Sturm: Oh, no. Groueff: There was no jealousy by the American top scientists? Sturm: No, no, no, no. Science at this level is absolutely international. There is an international aspect. Groueff: Did he speak good English? Sturm: No, a heavy accent. Groueff: Heavy accent but— […]

Stephane Groueff: Recording Dr. Rudolph. Dave Rudolph: As far as the organizational structure was concerned, when I reported to work, I reported to a man who had the administrative responsibilities for purchasing for the project and warehousing. You might say purchasing and supply functions – warehousing the stores, shipping to a small extent. No sooner […]

Ted Taylor: I think Carson Mark is the most valuable resource to talk to about what happened in those days at Los Alamos. At Livermore, [Edward] Teller, certainly. Richard Rhodes: Teller won’t talk to me, I’m afraid. He’s decided I’m the enemy. Taylor: Herb York I think is anxious for the story to be told correctly. […]

Reed Srere: Hi, I am Reed Srere – R-e-e-d S-r-e-r-e. I am recording this oral history for the Atomic Heritage Foundation on June 3 [2015] in Washington, DC. Please state your name. David Fox: I am David Fox. I live in Providence, Rhode Island. My father was a physicist on the Manhattan Project in Manhattan. […]

Harold Hoover: My name is Harold E. Hoover, that’s H-O-O-V-E-R, commonly known as Hal, H-A-L. Cindy Kelly: Why don’t you start by telling me how you got into the SED [Special Engineer Detachment]? How you happened to get into the SED, and then what you found when you got to Oak Ridge? Hoover: All right. […]