Lydia Martinez

Following the hype of the film Oppenheimer: here is boinera Lydia Martinez (1926), from El Rancho, who worked at Los Alamos in various jobs during and after the Manhattan Project.

Martinez started work at Los Alamos in 1943. She was a baby-sitter and housekeeper for families such as the Fermis, Tellers, Gordons, and Critchfields. She also worked as a junior technician in the X-7 group at South Mesa.

After the war, she remained at Los Alamos National Laboratory, working for Supply and Property and various other divisions, including the Theoretical Division and Weapon Systems Engineering Division. In 1983, she received the Laboratory’s Distinguished Performance Award. She retired as a property administrative specialist in 1989.