A Biography of Dr. John M. Googin - Y-12 National Security ...

FYI
art of directing all manner of people without giving them orders. He is, in turn, preacher, teacher, gadfly, thorn in the side,
catalyst, and he gets his way most of the time.
Unfortunately, because his understanding has been so thorough, he has occasionally been know to tell the weapons
designers either how to design their wares or why a certain idea of theirs was not the brightest one he’d ever heard. That
has not caused much amusement either, and John being right, at least some of the time, has not made matters any
easier.
There is an anecdote about Admiral Ernest King, who was appointed Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet at the
beginning of World War II. Admiral King was not a very loveable fellow. So, when he was given that job his comment was
“when they get in trouble, they call in the SOB’s” Don’t gasp! I just want to paraphrase. There is an unspoken saying that
has been applicable at the Y-12 Plant for a long time and it goes something like this: “when Y-12 gets in trouble, they
always call in Googin.” What difference has he made? Let me put it this way: For almost forty years, John Googin has
touched many, many people with his magic wand, and that includes everyone that counted at Y-12 and many outside Y-
12. Most have been bettered by the touch; and, as a result, a ragtag band of rather ordinary people have achieved some
rather extraordinary things in support of some very important national programs. George R. Jasny
(from a testimonial in honor of the Chemical Engineering Magazine’s Personal Achievement Award, 1982)
Dr. Googin was really nice. I didn’t mind talking to him on my level. He talked to me on his level and I talked to him
on my level and we had a good understanding of each other. A. D. Johnson, Janitor 9202
Dr. John
It was my good fortune to have Dr. John as a friend, professional advisor, critic of my deferred technical approaches,
visionary, supervisor, and as a next door office neighbor. Dr. John...always a friendly greeting, always inquisitive, always
sharing a challenge, always available to advise, always a keen wit, always had time for any of us, always the same to all
of us, always had an opinion on political subjects, always had technical insight beyond most of us, always would share his
popcorn, and always asked at the end of the day, “What have you done for me today?”
Dr. John and I had adjoining offices during the past eight years, and I always marveled at his ability to stimulate
whoever entered his office, or happened to catch his attention when walking down the hallway. The development staff
knew that to pass his way could well mean an oral examination on your project. Those in the back part of 9202, when
they didn’t think they could spare 20-30 minutes for a discussion, would use the “Googin By-Pass” through the Met Lab
(before RAD areas). I have seen him impart the same oral examination on Division Managers, Plant Managers, and Vice
Presidents. The intensity would vary, depending on your level of experience. I enjoyed his frequent visits to my office, and
you could bet he would always have a challenging issue on technical questions about a project he was interested in. You
had better have a reasonable answer or hope that one of the Development staff would pass the door way and Dr. John
would suddenly become interested in their project. Lamar Royer was always my favorite, because Dr. John seemed to
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