Credit: Courtesy of the Pennsylvania State University Archives
In March 1955, Penn State's Breazeale Nuclear Reactor became the nation's first university reactor to reach criticality. The reactor did not go live when President Eisenhower pushed the start button at the dedication ceremony. Uncertain of how to ship the fuel, the Atomic Energy Commission did not get it to Penn State until the following week. Shown here with President Eisenhower, from left to right, are nuclear engineering professor William Breazeale, Penn State president Milton Eisenhower, and dean of engineering Eric Walker.
