Richard W. Cook (August 8, 1907 – October 26, 1992) was born in Muskegon, Michigan. From 1927 to 1933, he attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and graduated with a bachelor's degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

. In 1940 he was ordered to active duty in the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant and from 1940 to 1942 served as Assistant Quartermaster and Quartermaster for the Construction Division of the

Quartermaster Corps Following is a list of Quartermaster Corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties: * Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army * Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...

. From 1942 to 1944 he was area engineer for Corps of Engineers, Washington Engineer District. Cook was involved with U.S. atomic energy. From 1944 to 1947, Cook was Assistant to District Engineer and K-25 Operations Officer, Corps of Engineers, Manhattan Engineer District,

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...

, and from 1947 to 1951 he was Deputy Manager and General Manager of Oak Ridge Operations,

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President ...

(AEC). In the fall of 1945, while still at Oak Ridge, Lt. Col. Richard W. Cook was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

for his work on the A-Bomb Project. From 1951 to 1958 he was employed at AEC headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was made Director of Production and in 1954 promoted to Deputy General Manager of the AEC.Federal Records Division, National Archives and Records Administration. ''United States Government Organization Manual, 1953–1954''. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office. 1953 -1954. p. 333. From 1958 to 1973 Cook was employed as an executive at American Machine and Foundry Company and at the

Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville postal address), is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's first ...

. He was employed at AMF while it was producing components for the Atlas and Titan missile systems and he was at Marshall Space Flight Center during the height of the Apollo Program.

References

External links

Papers of Richard W. Cook, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Richard W. 1907 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American engineers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Michigan State University alumni Manhattan Project people