Pioneering Female Scientists Who Fought Against Nuclear Weapons

The conflict in the Middle East continued this month with loss of life and some Israeli hostages being rescued. Since the Second World War there have been multiple regional conflicts with some believing that nuclear weapons are the ultimate deterrent. Others believe they are the ultimate risk. But what about the scientists who developed these extraordinarily powerful bombs that possess the capability of killing millions and destroying huge parts of civilization?

The research and development program that produced the first atomic weapons was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. It was called the Manhattan Project. The first weapon was tested on July 16th 1945. However, the next day dozens of scientists involved with the Manhattan Project signed a petition to President Truman written by their colleague Leo Szilárd, who had first proposed the idea of a nuclear chain reaction. The petition, known as the Szilárd Petition, urged the president not to approve the use of atomic weapons without first offering Japan a chance to accept terms of surrender. Unfortunately, the president didn't read the petition before the U.S. dropped the bombs on Japan, devastating the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs were among 33 weapons that shaped WWII history.

The Szilárd Petition was signed by over 70 scientists who had worked to create the bombs and ten of them were women. To determine the women scientists who worked on the atomic bomb and later opposed its use, 24/7 Tempo utilized information from the Atomic Heritage Foundation to generate a list of every woman who signed the petition.

After the war, one of the leading woman scientists on the Manhattan Project, Kay Way, went further to voice her opposition by compiling a book of essays called "One World or None: A Report to the Public on the Full Meaning of the Atomic Bomb." Leading scientists including Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and J. Robert Oppenheimer contributed essays to the book, which voiced concerns about the ethics of nuclear weapons.

Mary T. Burke served as a research assistant in the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago during the Manhattan Project, contributing to atomic bomb research in the Instruments Division.

Ethaline Hartge Cortelyou got her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Alfred College in 1932. As a junior chemist at the Met Lab during the Manhattan Project, she assisted in preparing the classified table of isotopes. In her later years, she continued scientific writing and was a strong advocate for women in STEM.

Mary M. Dailey was a research assistant in the health division at the University of Chicago's Met Lab during the Manhattan Project.

Miriam P. Finkel attained a B.S. in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1938, and her Ph.D. in 1944. She went on to investigate the toxicity levels of radionuclides and the effects radiation exposure can have on the body. She worked as an associate biologist at the Metallurgical Laboratory during the Manhattan Project. Finkel's research helped develop health and safety standards for radiation exposure and contributed significantly to molecular biology.

Having achieved a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Illinois, Mildred C. Ginsberg Goldberger went on to work as a research assistant and computer (meaning someone who calculates) at the Met Lab. She became a leading mathematician and economist and later served as the First Lady of CalTech.

Marietta Catherine Moore served as a technician in the health division at the University of Chicago's Met Lab during the Manhattan Project.

Margaret H. Rand was another research assistant in the Met Lab's health division during the Manhattan Project.

Marguerite N. Swift served as a Manhattan Project associate physiologist in the health division at the University of Chicago's Met Lab.

Katharine "Kay" Way obtained her bachelor's in physics from Columbia University and then completed her PhD in nuclear physics. At the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago, she helped develop the Way-Wigner formula for calculating nuclear fission product decay, and her expertise in the area brought her to other project sites including Hanford, Los Alamos, and Oak Ridge. She was one of the Manhattan Project's leading women scientists.

Hoylande Young was educated at Ohio State University and the University of Chicago, earning a Ph.D. in organic chemistry. While working as a senior chemist at the Met Lab, she also served as an editor of the National Nuclear Energy Series, a wartime report on nuclear research. She later became the Director of Technical Information at Argonne National Laboratory.