Panel discussion to feature author, Y-12 Manhattan Project workers

Posted at 12:43 pm September 16, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Denise Kiernan

Best-selling author Denise Kiernan will host a panel discussion with women employed at Oak Ridge during the top-secret Manhattan Project of World War II.

The panel discussion will start at 6 p.m. Wednesday, September 23, at the American Museum of Science and Energy. Admission is free.

Kiernan is the award-winning author of “The Girls of Atomic City,” a New York Times best-seller that tells the story of the women who worked at Oak Ridge during the war years.

Some of these women, known as “Calutron Girls,” adjusted dials that controlled the workings of the 1,152 calutrons used to separate isotopes of U-235 from naturally occurring uranium, a press release said. The work fueled “Little Boy,” the first nuclear bomb used in warfare.

Local historian Ray Smith will introduce the program. The release said panelists who have agreed to appear include Ruth Huddleston, Peggy Stuart, and Hazel Franklin. All worked at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant during the Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the first atomic weapons during World War II.

“We wanted to do something to highlight the importance of the war work that took place here in Oak Ridge and to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II,” museum Director David Moore said.

Kiernan will sign copies of her book, which may be purchased in the Museum’s Discovery Center. Seating for the event will be limited to 300 visitors.

For more information, contact Moore at (865) 576-3200. The event is sponsored by the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation, the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, and the Doubletree by Hilton Hotels in Oak Ridge.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s American Museum of Science and Energy is located at 300 S. Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge and is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information go to www.amse.org. To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.

The famous “Calutron Girls” photograph by Manhattan Project photographer Ed Westcott that prompted Denise Kiernan to write the best-seller “The Girls of Atomic City.” (Photo by Ed Westcott)