Wilhelm's Way: The Inspiring Story of the ISU Chemist Who Saved the Manhattan Project

Monday, 07 Mar 2022 at 6:00 pm – Sun Room, Memorial Union

In February 1942, while the first American troops arrived in Europe and others found themselves engaged in desperate combat against Japanese invasion forces during the Battle of Bataan, Dr. Harley Wilhelm, a chemist at Iowa State, was recruited by his boss, Dr. Frank Spedding, to solve the problem of how to produce uranium for the Manhattan Project. The challenges were immense, the obstacles great, yet Wilhelm and his small, ragtag team of scientists and technicians persevered, producing tons of pure uranium placed at the core of the world’s first controlled nuclear chain reaction. Following that history-making event in December 1942, the Iowa State team produced millions more pounds of uranium for the atomic bombs that, ultimately, brought about the end to World War II.

Independent scholar Teresa Wilhelm Waldof is the world’s leading expert on the Ames Project section of the Manhattan Project and the granddaughter of Dr. Harley Wilhelm, co-founder of the Ames Laboratory on the Iowa State University campus. Her first book, Wilhelm’s Way: The Inspiring Story of the Iowa Chemist Who Saved the Manhattan Project, recounts the extraordinary life of Dr. Wilhelm, a sharecropper’s son who rose to prominence in the fields of chemistry and metallurgy and was recognized for his inventive mind, but loved for his humble nature.

Ms. Waldof holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. A business executive with over 30 years of management experience, her VACIP© and DRIP© methodologies help companies create efficiencies, reduce costs, and increase profits. She currently serves as the Director of Sales and Field Operations for SageGlass Saint Gobain. Her speaking topics include the Ames Project and Wilhelm’s contributions to science as well as problem-solving practices to improve business results.