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Argonne traces its birth from Enrico Fermi’s secret charge — the Manhattan Project — to create the world’s first self-sustaining nuclear reaction.
Code-named the ?“Metallurgical Lab,” the team constructed Chicago Pile-1, which achieved criticality on December 2, 1942, underneath the University of Chicago’s Stagg football field stands. Because the experiments were deemed too dangerous to conduct in a major city, the operations were moved to a spot in nearby Palos Hills and renamed ?“Argonne” after the surrounding forest.
