march december american civil engineer directed construction nuclear site key facility manhattan_project world war graduate joined junior hydraulic engineer worked hydroelectric projects april called active duty united_states_army joined area engineer manhattan_project site supervised enormous construction effort included chemical separation plants large known queen world production scale nuclear war went brazil helped build hydroelectric facility joined involved construction hydroelectric dam aluminum project northern british_columbia des passes project quebec vice president early life born wisconsin march son older brothers norman younger brother instructor hydraulic engineering received degree civil engineering master science degree civil engineering joined reserve officers training corps editor president university member blade national officer august married fellow graduate taught speech therapy schools wisconsin hired junior hydraulic engineer worked hydroelectric hydraulic problems construction planning plant design left spent year working contractor worked johnson construction company tunnels world war april called active duty united_states_army lieutenant joined received rapid promotion december year old lieutenant colonel accompanied colonel wilmington delaware discuss location proposed production plant representatives point assigned manhattan_project mission build atomic bomb worked special studies worked director brigadier general construction pentagon choice area engineer project initially intention locate plant manhattan_project production facilities tennessee concerns arisen dangers atomic explosion lay miles away larger site required facilities separated sparsely populated accessible area access abundant water electric power returned meeting met instructed survey team find suitable site surveyed sites california washington chose area washington later recalled far working relationship concerned course differences day fortunate project construction manager operations manager people deal respect good working relationship remember time read assistant chief engineer called said church having big argument replied guys don arguments worth damn isolation site known exercised administrative autonomy manhattan_project area engineers number personnel assigned office grew construction work commenced acre site april size construction work force eventually reached june workers employed site scale task enormous supervised construction buildings miles roads miles miles railroad track chemical separation plants world production scale nuclear foot chemical separation plants separated large known queen ocean liner dangerously radioactive queen concrete walls feet thick operations remote control production batch dissolved separation plant december january personally batch los_angeles handed took fat man bomb bombing nagasaki wartime services awarded distinguished service medal later life left army went brazil project manager construction hydroelectric facility eventually manager engineering brazilian traction late joined project manager engineering construction hydroelectric dam aluminum project northern british_columbia moved montreal director engineering worked des passes project joined oakland california vice president heavy construction hydroelectric engineering vice president retired age registered professional engineer wisconsin california nebraska pennsylvania british_columbia years retirement remained active consultant working firms including electric member wrote chapter construction services handbook heavy construction informed cancer lungs liver died week later december nursing home california survived son michael younger brother second wife married october died daughter died papers library wilmington delaware
Franklin Matthias