 In February 1942 , Arthur H. Compton established its Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago . As part of the Manhattan Project , its mission was to build nuclear reactors to create plutonium that would be used in atomic bombs . The Metallurgical Laboratory 's Chemistry Division was initially headed by Frank Spedding , but he preferred hands on work to administration . Compton then turned to Franck , with some trepidation owing to his German background . Compton later wrote : 
