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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, December 4, 1968
Nuclear reactor not seen by many students
By DONNA SHRADER Kansan Staff Writer
Towering above the small but highly complex-looking instrument panel stands the symbol of our time—but less than one per cent of KU students will see it this year.
The nuclear reactor at KU, one of two in the state, and housed in the Nuclear Reactor Building, will be seen by less than 100 students "in the course of a year." The reactor does not do much, though.
Impressive though it may be, the reactor is a "flop" in its initial reason for existence on this campus.
Russell B. Mester, professor of chemical and petroleum engineering and reactor supervisor, said the reactor was built in 1961 largely by grants from the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in an effort to encourage universities to offer degrees in nuclear engineering.
Mesler said this degree was discontinued at KU in September, 1967, for lack of student interest.
The 10 kilowatt power source serves the University in other
ways, however, Mesler said. These functions include: making isotopes for various departments of the University, such as the chemistry department; for research and laboratory work by students; and making material to be sold commercially.
The departments of nuclear physics, chemical engineering and radiation biophysics, all housed in the reactor building, are the basic users of the reactor, Mesler said.
The departments of physics and radiation biophysics offer three undergraduate courses at the present time which use the reactor as a laboratory tool, Messer said. One such class used the reactor to measure shielding deficiency, he added.
The reactor aids departmental research, too, Mesler said, in
making "short life isotopes," isotopes which will decompose sometimes within a day.
Research done by graduate students using the reactor varies and includes such projects as putting rubies in the reactor to measure the high intensity neutrons, and using the reactor to measure the amount of soil removed by detergents, Mesler said.
"It's a highly specialized tool." Mesler said, "and it is like gasoline or electricity—safe when used properly and treated with care."
The reactor is shut down at night, and unqualified, untrained persons can not enter the area of the reactor—a special set of doors and locks do give the feeling of being admitted to a
Photo by Carl Ricketts
Taking a sample
Hobart O. Woody, KU's nuclear reactor operator, is shown here taking samples of waste material from the reactor needed to run government required tests on the reactor's operation.
Available in many colors and much plaid. Can be worn as a shirt or a jacket.
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H. O. Woody, licensed reactor operator, checks to make sure the reactor is used safely. He
said only qualified persons are allowed to use the reactor and they know "how to use it safely."
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