Photos
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Lise Meitner And the Discovery of Fission
From the beginning, women had to fight to have their work recognized. Lise Meitner -- pictured here receiving the Fermi Award in 1966 -- discovered nuclear fission with Otto Hahn in 1939. But six years later, only Hahn was given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery.
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Leona Woods Marshall
Leona Woods Marshall was the youngest and only female member of Enrico Fermi's team at University of Chicago that created the first self-sustained nuclear reaction.
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Women Processing War Bonds
An officer stands at a microphone, while women sitting at tables process bonds for the gathered crowd.
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WAACs Taking A Break With A Game of Chinese Checkers
A group of members of the Women Army Air Force Corps, also called WAACs, relaxes with a game of Chinese checkers.
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A Group of Army Corps Members & Nurses Pose for a Photograph
This photo includes Women's Army Corps, servicemen, and nurses in Oak Ridge, TN. Women also joined the Red Cross in large numbers during WWII.
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Woman Welding at Oak Ridge
During the Manhattan Project, women weren't relegated to expected roles like nurse, teacher, and secretary. As seen here, women helped in a lot of other aspects of the project including welding, control panel management, and even nuclear science.
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A "Calutron Girl" Sits At Her Station
Calutron workers were mostly 18-20 year old women, who were trained to watch the control panels on the machine and keep the dial between a certain number. Management cautioned male co-workers not to talk to female Y-12 workers as they monitored the controls.
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