Manhattan Project and Met Lab

Amid fears that German scientists might already be well on their way to creating a chain reaction, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the fall of 1941 approved a full-scale effort to apply atomic theory to the design and construction of a new military weapon. Arthur Holly Compton, Nobel laureate and professor of physics at the University of Chicago, was placed in charge of the program, which was named the Manhattan Project. Compton and colleagues decided that the work of building and operating a test reactor would be concentrated in Chicago under the code name Metallurgical Laboratory (Met Lab).

Early in 1942 Enrico Fermi and groups of scientists began to arrive at Chicago, where they collaborated on refinements in the design of a nuclear pile. After plans to build the reactor at a remote site on the outskirts of Chicago were blocked by a labor strike, construction shifted quickly to a space beneath the West Stand of Stagg Field on the University of Chicago campus. Originally designed for racquetball, the room had been in use more recently as a squash court.

The inside front cover of a book covered in signatures — Henry DeWolf Smyth. A General Account of the Development of Methods of Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945.

Rare Book Collection, gift of Diana King, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

The next two book pages covered in signatures, including the introductory title page reading, "Atomic Energy for Military Purposes," which has been written over in places by signatures. — Henry DeWolf Smyth. A General Account of the Development of Methods of Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945.

Rare Book Collection, gift of Diana King, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

A black and white photo of four men in suits gathered around a piece of equipment

Arthur H. Compton, group photograph, undated

University of Chicago Photographic Archive, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

A black and white portrait of Fermi in front of a blackboard with a diagram and equations written on it

Enrico Fermi, photograph, undated

University of Chicago Photographic Archive, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

A black and white photo of a man standing next to the exponential test pile. The pile is about twice as tall as the man.

Exponential test pile, University of Chicago, photograph, 1942

University of Chicago News Office Records, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

Notes written on graph paper in blue pen

Herbert Anderson, "Organization of the Metallurgical Project," manuscript, September 17, 1942

Herbert L. Anderson Papers, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

Signatures written on a blank page next to the preface of the book — Henry DeWolf Smyth. A General Account of the Development of Methods of Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945.

Rare Book Collection, gift of Diana King, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

Signatures written in blank space after the preface, next to the table of contents — Henry DeWolf Smyth. A General Account of the Development of Methods of Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945.

Rare Book Collection, gift of Diana King, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

A black and white photo looking along an ivy covered wall and the turreted tower at the end of the wall.

Stagg Field West Stand, photograph, undated

University of Chicago Photographic Archive, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

A black and white photo of a plain brick room

Stagg Field West Stand, squash court, photograph, undated

University of Chicago News Office Records, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

A collection of black and white photos from around campus

Summer session, photograph, 1941

Marvin Wilkening Papers, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

Enrico Fermi pile notes, November 29, 1942

Marvin Wilkening Papers, The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago