Engineering Memory of the Month

When Stanford went nuclear

There was a time, 1959-1972 to be exact, when graduate student enrichment at Stanford Engineering meant using fully enriched uranium-235. That’s when the mechanical engineering department operated the 10,000-kilowatt nuclear reactor shown above. It occupied the Harris Ryan High Voltage Laboratory on campus.

Although a hefty piece of research equipment, the reactor was equally important as a teaching device. Among other features, it included an open pool of water 22 feet deep. With this hulking machine, students could learn about reactor operation and design and they could even irradiate materials. In December 1958, when this reactor “went critical" — i.e. started producing reactions— there was a mass of 24 students enrolled in Stanford’s Nuclear Technology Program.

The program was led by then Professor George Leppert. In 1959, the program added Professor Thomas Connolly, a nuclear power expert from UCLA. Connolly’s early research at Stanford was focused on ensuring the safety and reliability of reactor design, but he was especially dedicated to teaching. After he died in early April 2006, Connolly’s wife, Helen, told the Stanford News Service, “His students were really his foremost concern in his life, after his family, of course. He was very interested in the work his students were doing and he kept in touch with many of them." The reactor, which cost $175,000, supported a variety of research projects as well. Inaugural projects included a variety of studies in gas and liquid heat transfer. Ultimately, Stanford shut down the reactor in 1972.

The reactor, which cost $175,000, supported a variety of research projects as well. Inaugural projects included a variety of studies in gas and liquid heat transfer. Ultimately, Stanford shut down the reactor in 1972.

Send your memories (anecdotes and photos) to David Orenstein, manager, Communications and P.R.