Kenneth Nichols

For the Irish academic, see Kenneth Nicholls.

Kenneth Nichols CBE
Nichols at his desk in 1945
Born	(1907-11-13)13 November 1907 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	21 February 2000(2000-02-21) (aged 92) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Burial place	Arlington National Cemetery
Education	Cornell University (BS, MS) University of Iowa (PhD)
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
Service years	1929–1953
Rank	Major General
Commands	Armed Forces Special Weapons Project Manhattan Engineer District
Conflicts	Occupation of Nicaragua World War II
Awards	Distinguished Service Medal (2) United States Atomic Energy Commission Distinguished Service Award Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Great Britain) Medal of Merit (Nicaragua)

Kenneth David Nichols CBE (13 November 1907 – 21 February 2000) was an officer in the United States Army, and a civil engineer who worked on the secret Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb during World War II. He served as Deputy District Engineer to James C. Marshall, and from 13 August 1943 as the District Engineer of the Manhattan Engineer District. Nichols led both the uranium production facility at the Clinton Engineer Works at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the plutonium production facility at Hanford Engineer Works in Washington state.

Nichols remained with the Manhattan Project after the war until it was taken over by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1947. He was the military liaison officer with the Atomic Energy Commission from 1946 to 1947. After briefly teaching at the United States Military Academy at West Point, he was promoted to major general and became chief of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, responsible for the military aspects of atomic weapons, including logistics, handling and training. He was deputy director for the Atomic Energy Matters, Plans and Operations Division of the Army's general staff, and was the senior Army member of the military liaison committee that worked with the Atomic Energy Commission.

In 1950, General Nichols became deputy director of the Guided Missiles Division of the Department of Defense. He was appointed chief of research and development when it was reorganized in 1952. In 1953, he became the general manager of the Atomic Energy Commission, where he promoted the construction of nuclear power plants. He played a key role in the security clearance hearing against J. Robert Oppenheimer that resulted in Oppenheimer's security clearance being revoked. In later life, Nichols became an engineering consultant on private nuclear power plants.