Leona Woods Leona Woods Leona Harriet Woods (August 9, 1919 – November 10, 1986), later known as Leona Woods Marshall and Leona Woods Marshall Libby, was an American physicist who helped build the first nuclear reactor and the first atomic bomb. At age 23, she was the youngest and only female member of the team which built and experimented with the world's first nuclear reactor (then called a "pile"), Chicago Pile-1, in a project led by her mentor Enrico Fermi. In particular, Woods was instrumental in the construction and then utilization of geiger counters for analysis during experimentation. She was the only
Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge The Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge is a decoration of the United States Army which was issued between the years of 1965 and 1990. In 1991, the decoration was declared obsolete by Army Regulation 600-8-22, but uniform regulations permit the continued wearing of badges awarded before then. The Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge is worn above the ribbons over the left pocket flap of the Army uniform, in the same position as the Parachutist Badge. The Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge was first authorized on June 18, 1965. The badge was issued in four degrees; the basic badge was