William T. Miller

Early life and education Miller was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1911. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1932 and a doctoral degree in 1935, both from Duke University. He was a Lilly Fellow at Stanford University from 1935 until 1936.

Early career Miller came to the Chemistry Department at Cornell University as an instructor in late 1936. His research focused on organofluorine chemistry, especially the synthesis of chemically non-reactive chlorofluorocarbons.

Manhattan Project In 1942, at the outset of the Manhattan Project, three methods of uranium enrichment were under consideration: gaseous diffusion, thermal diffusion, and electromagnetic separation. The gaseous diffusion method involves passing uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas through a series of semipermeable membranes to achieve the separation of the fissionable uranium-235 (235U) isotope from the more abundant but non-fissile isotope uranium-238 (238U). It was first necessary however to develop non-reactive chemical compounds that could be used as coatings, lubricants and gaskets for the surfaces which would come into contact with the UF6 gas, which is a highly reactive and corrosive substance. Because of Miller's expertise in organofluorine chemistry, he was recruited by scientists of the Manhattan Project to synthesize and develop such materials. Miller and his team succeeded in developing several novel non-reactive chlorofluorocarbon polymers, making possible the construction of the K-25 gaseous diffusion plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee that produced the uranium for some of the first nuclear weapons. For this effort, U.S. Army Major General Leslie Groves, the military leader of the Manhattan Project, sent Miller a letter of commendation, which read,

Miller's research during the Manhattan Project also included the first chemical synthesis of methoxyflurane, a halogenated ether that was in clinical use as an inhalational anesthetic from 1960 until around 1974.

Later career Miller became a full professor in 1947, and remained in that position until his retirement in 1977. and the renovation of Baker Laboratory which occurred from 1968 to 1975. Miller was also a founding member of Kendall at Ithaca, a residential retirement community organized by retired Cornell faculty. Miller was a member of the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Legacy Of the three competing uranium enrichment methods developed by the Manhattan Project, gaseous diffusion is the only one that continued to be used today.