The culmination and highlight of my undergraduate nuclear engineering education at RPI was Critical Reactor Lab taught by Dave Walthousen:

38.662 Theory and operation of a lower power critical assembly; reactor layout, instrumentation, shielding controls, hazards, problems of start-up and shutdown and operating parameters. Approach to criticality, operating procedures, kinetics. Measurements will be made of neutron flux, buckling, radiation, and various reactivity effects.

Fifty years ago, in the spring of my senior year, my classmates and I would drive over to the critical facility in Schenectady each week. Constructed by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for reactivity studies as part of its U.S. Army contract to develop Packaged Power Reactors, which I wrote about in How Portable Can a Power Reactor Be? After ALCO left the nuclear business in 1963, the critical facility was acquired by RPI.  The low power critical assembly was in a large pool and used highly enriched plate-type fuel. I wish I had some pictures to share.

We followed the course outline below, starting with safety of course. One of Dave’s admonitions has stayed with me throughout my career:  wash your hands before using the toilet to avoid contaminating your privates!  That is true no matter what you’re handling.

Then we calibrated instruments and neutron sources and did sub-critical multiplication experiments.  The third week we completed a critical assembly.  One of the unique aspects at RPI was that students were hands-on and got to load the fuel.  We worked as a team in the lab to plan our work, operate the reactor, and collect our data. The course outline below details the semester’s work.

I took great pride in my lab reports, and generally typed them (I can’t remember what brand of typewriter I used), even though hand written reports were acceptable. Here are my lab reports:

Sadly, Dave passed away in 1978 at age 44, and the critical facility was renamed in his memory.