The Ames Project: Iowa Time Machine October 12, 1945

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 12, 1945, General Leslie R. Groves, director of the Manhattan Project, arrived at Iowa State to award the “E” Award for Excellence in Production to the Ames Project. Part of the larger Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb, the Ames Project found a method for preparing pure uranium metal vital to atomic bombs and nuclear reactors.

Founded by physical chemist Frank Spedding at Iowa State and guided by chemist Harley Wilhelm, the World War II-era project took place at the extreme southeastern edge of the Iowa State Campus. Workers on the project dubbed the site “Little Ankeny,” nodding to a large munitions plant operating south of Ankeny during World War II.

Starting work early in the war, Ames chemists, working with other scientists across the country on the Manhattan Project, first used their new process to purify uranium in early August 1942. German chemist Hans Goldschmidt developed the thermite-based purification in the late 1800s.

After World War II ended, in October 1945, Groves arrived to award the ‘E’ Award to the Ames Project at Iowa State. As the first non-commercial industrial recipient, the government cited 2.5 years of excellence in producing metallic uranium as a vital war material. Iowa State stands out as the award's only non-industrial recipient. #Iowa #OTD #History #Atomic #ManhattanProject