Enrico Fermi of his life, Fermi questioned his faith in society at large to make wise choices about nuclear technology. He said: Fermi underwent an exploratory operation in Billings Memorial Hospital on 9 October 1954, after which he returned home. 50 days later, Fermi died at age 53 of stomach cancer in his home in Chicago. His memorial service was held at the University of Chicago chapel, where colleagues, Samuel K. Allison, Emilio Segrè, and Herbert L. Anderson spoke, mourning the loss of one of the world's "most brilliant and productive physicists." His body was interred at Oak Woods Cemetery. Fermi received
Enrico Fermi December. The shape of the pile was intended to be roughly spherical, but as work proceeded Fermi calculated that criticality could be achieved without finishing the entire pile as planned. This experiment was a landmark in the quest for energy, and it was typical of Fermi's approach. Every step was carefully planned, every calculation meticulously done. When the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction was achieved, Compton made a coded phone call to James B. Conant, the chairman of the National Defense Research Committee. To continue the research where it would not pose a public health hazard, the reactor was disassembled