The critical element required for the Manhattan Project to be successful was purified uranium metal. At Ames, Iowa in 1942, under the direction of Iowa State College chemistry professor Frank Spedding, chemist Harley Wilhelm perfected a process of purifying uranium, increasing safety and drastically cutting production costs. The Ames Project supplied the Chicago Pile, the world’s first self-sustaining nuclear reactor, with over 30 percent of the uranium metal used.
After the success of the Chicago Pile, the Ames Project produced pure uranium on a mass scale for the Manhattan Project, with over 1,000 tons produced by the end of the war. Ames Laboratory was permanently established on the grounds of Iowa State University in 1947, where it remains in operation today.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service