Language, Literacy and Storytelling: Day 18

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Day 18 - Lloyd Quarterman

Lloyd Quarterman - Chemist

1918 - 1982

Who Was He?

Lloyd was born in Philadelphia. In 1943 he graduated from St. Augustine University in Raliegh, NC. He was recruited right out of school to work on the Manhattan Project.

He ended up at the University of Chicago under the tutelage of Enrico Fermi

Quarterman worked mainly with Hydrogen Fluorine. Hydrogen Fluorine is used to isolate the Uranium isotope U-235. That is what is used in the construction of atomic bombs.

The U-235 that Quarterman isolated was used in making Little Boy, the bomb that was exploded over Hiroshima, Japan.

After the war, Quarterman achieved his master's degree at the University of Chicago.

He was employed at the Argonne National Laboratory for the remainder of his life and continued his work with quantum mechanics and chemistry.

What Is His Legacy?

This one was hard for me. As a huge pacifist and an army brat, I have a particular view about war.

Lloyd Quarterman's legacy is one of both war and peace. He was a key scientist on the Manhattan Project. That is forever part of his legacy. He was a young man when he helped create the atomic bomb.

What about the rest of his life?

The remainder of his life's work was consumed with the peaceful side of the atom.

He helped create nuclear power plants.

There are 60 commercial nuclear power plants in operation in America today with 98 nuclear reactors in 30 states.

Lloyd Quarterman was part of the project that ended WWII in such a horrible but decisive fashion.
He was also a man who helped find a way to harness the atom to work for many Americans.

Celebrate Black History!

Day 1 - The ABC's of Black History Month

Day 2 - Archie Alphonso Alexander - Mathematician/Engineer

Day 3 - Sarah Boone - Inventor and Domestic Goddess
Day 4 - Charles R. Drew - Blood Man
Day 5 - Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner - Inventor of The Sanitary Pad

Day 6 - Ernest Everett Just - Biologist, Zoologist, Cell man
Day 7 - Frederick McKinley Jones - The Coolest Man in Modern History