Cutting-edge Nuclear Research

Article posted in the Post Register by David Pace on May 8, 2023

On Feb. 18, 1949, the Atomic Energy Commission picked the Arco Naval Proving Ground as the site of the National Reactor Testing Station.  Since then, researchers at the site have made many groundbreaking discoveries. In this archival photo, the Heat Transfer Reactor Experiment demonstrated in 1955 that the heat of fissioning uranium alone could power an airplane engine. But other obstacles to nuclear-powered aircraft led to cancelation of the program in 1961.    Courtesy Idaho National Laboratory

Editor's note: This article is the final installment in a three-part series on the Leadership In Nuclear Energy Commission and Idaho National Laboratory.

Idaho National Laboratory leadership discussed the past, present and future of INL in a presentation to the Leadership In Nuclear Energy Commission on Wednesday. The LINE Commission advises the governor on nuclear energy.

"We come out here and learn, and then we sit down and advise the governor when it comes to decision points," said Lt. Gov Scott Bedke, the co-chairman of the LINE Commission along with INL director John Wagner.

The commission consists of 26 individuals - including leaders from INL, state government officials, policymakers and local representatives.

Past Idaho National Laboratory traces its eastern Idaho roots to its days as the Arco Naval Proving Ground during World War II, starting in 1943.

According to the Library of Congress, it was the "only proving ground of its kind west of the Mississippi River and is one of very few sites in Idaho that contributed to American victory during World War II. The Arco NPG was the terminus of an elaborate logistical system that began with the guns on ships like USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin."

Continue reading the article at : Cutting-edge nuclear research: The past, present and future of Idaho National Laboratory | INL | postregister.com | postregister.com