Knowra Leslie Groves Leslie Groves Leslie Richard Groves Jr. was a U.S. Army lieutenant general who directed the Manhattan Project during World War II, overseeing its sites, personnel, security, and resources.
J. Robert Oppenheimer : An American theoretical physicist who directed the Los Alamos Laboratory during the Manhattan Project. Groves selected him to lead the laboratory that designed the project’s nuclear weapons.
Manhattan Project : A secret U.S.-led wartime program that developed the first nuclear weapons during World War II. Groves directed this broader program, of which the Manhattan Engineer District was the Army administrative structure.
Trinity test : The first detonation of a nuclear weapon, conducted in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Groves oversaw the test that demonstrated the plutonium weapon design before its wartime use.
Nuclear weapons : Weapons that release energy through nuclear fission, fusion, or both. The project Groves directed created the first operational nuclear weapons.
Vannevar Bush : An American engineer and science administrator who chaired the wartime Office of Scientific Research and Development. Bush helped establish civilian oversight and connected Groves’s military program to federal scientific leadership.
Manhattan Engineer District : The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers organization established to administer the Manhattan Project. Groves commanded the district that coordinated construction, procurement, security, and research.
Manhattan Project sites : The dispersed laboratories, factories, and military facilities used to develop nuclear weapons during World War II. Groves selected, secured, and coordinated the remote locations that made the secret program possible.
Nuclear arms race : The competition among states to develop and expand their nuclear arsenals, especially during the Cold War. The wartime program Groves built helped inaugurate an international contest over nuclear power.
James B. Conant : An American chemist and university president who advised the U.S. government on wartime science. Conant served on the senior committee advising the project’s direction and policy.
Oak Ridge, Tennessee : A Tennessee site built during World War II to produce enriched uranium for the Manhattan Project. Groves oversaw its construction and the industrial plants that separated uranium isotopes.
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