TBF, there were guys at Los Alamos whose responsibility wasn't much more complicated than wheeling a cart around or what have you. But they still likely had degrees, just not quite as brilliant as some of the others at the same facility.

But yeah, the actual 'experiment' that triggers the resonance cascade is so straightforward, one has to wonder why they couldn't just use a conveyor belt and avoid the need for a live test subject inside the reactor room in a HEV suit.