Wahl obtained a B.S. in Radiochemistry from Iowa State University in 1939. As a Ph.D. student, Wahl was part of the team—including Glenn Seaborg, Joseph W. Kennedy, and Edwin McMillan—that isolated and identified the element plutonium in 1941 (and later neptunium-238 & -239). It immediately became clear to the scientists working on the element that the isotope of plutonium with the mass number 239 was fissionable and could be used to make a weapon. In 1942, Wahl received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

When Wahl was working on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos from 1943-1946, one of Wahl’s main tasks included figuring out a way to purify the plutonium that arrived from B Reactor in Hanford to reduce the possibility of spontaneous fission. He developed a technique for purifying plutonium that is still used today.

During his tenure at Washington University, Wahl was known for his work on oxidation-reduction chemistry and fission yields.

Obituary Physics Today

Awards

1966 Seaborg Award: Arthur C. Wahl