Edited by Michael Mays
WSU Press: 2020
Many of the academic essays in this book, the second in the Hanford Histories series, were first presented in 2017 at the Legacies of the Manhattan Project at 75 Years conference in Richland, situated along the southern edge of the Hanford Site. In his introduction, Michael Mays — professor of English at WSU Tri-Cities, director of the Hanford … » More …
Architect, photographer, and alumnus Harley Cowan photographed Hanford Site as part of a fellowship to document the historic location, now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.
Read more about Cowan and the project.
Photos by Harley Cowan
Sue Olson, 94, came to Richland in 1944 and worked throughout Hanford as an executive secretary. She also worked in the labs at Hanford, calculating the numbers from radioactive samples. Eventually, she landed a job working for the assistant general manager of Hanford, Wilfred “Bill” Johnson. She says back then, “It was all business to win World War II. And afterward, during the Cold War it was that way too.” She had top-secret clearance and locked her filing cabinet each night before going home.
Olson’s story is part of the “Daughters of Hanford” multimedia project, in which radio correspondent Anna King ’00, photographer Kai-Huei … » More …
Floating, glowing letters greet a group of high school seniors as the doors slide open: “Welcome to the Hanford History Museum, Class of 2035!” Inside, some students check out relics from 95 years back, such as a long radiation detector nicknamed “Snoopy,” lead-lined glove boxes for handling radioactive material, a soundproofed phone booth with numbers still scrawled in pencil. Others read posters telling stories of people who worked on the Hanford site in World War II or the Cold War.
The entire back wall flickers to life in a giant video, beginning with a wide view of the building at the entrance to the Manhattan … » More …
Seven decades later, we consider our plutonium legacy
Works considered in this article:
Plume
Kathleen Flenniken
University of Washington Press 2012
Made in Hanford: The Bomb that Changed the World
Hill Williams
Washington State University Press 2011
Making Plutonium, Re-Making Richland: Atomic Heritage and Community Identity, Richland, Washington, 1943-1963
Lee Ann Powell
Thesis, Department of History, Washington State University 2007
Reactor B From State Route 24 east of … » More …
John Abelson ’60, and Philip H. Abelson ’33, ’35
Roberts & Company, 2007
I was lucky enough to meet Philip Abelson in 2002 on the occasion of his visit to Pullman for the dedication of Abelson Hall (formerly Science Hall) in honor of the scientist and his wife Dr. Neva Abelson ’34.
During our brief interview, Abelson downplayed his own story, instead emphasizing his family’s ties to Washington State University. In 1905, his … » More …