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Oak Ridge National Laboratory history
Oak Ridge National Laboratory company history timeline
Y-12 National Security Complex—Construction of the first building at the Y-12 Plant, 9201-1, began in February 1943.
But in the midst of encouraging progress in construction and research on the electromagnetic process in July came discouraging news from Oppenheimer's isolated laboratory in Los Alamos, set up in 1943 to consolidate work on atomic weapons.
Meanwhile, receiver design evolved quickly enough in spring and summer 1943 to be incorporated into the Alpha plant.
With what was left of his time and money in early 1943 Lawrence built prototypes of both Alpha and Beta units at Berkeley for testing and training operating personnel.
In 1943, construction of the "Clinton Laboratories" was completed, later renamed to "Oak Ridge National Laboratory". The site was chosen for the X-10 Graphite Reactor, used to show that plutonium can be created from enriched uranium.
In spite of precautions aimed at correcting the electrical and oil related problems that had shut down Alpha 1, the second Alpha fared little better when it started up in mid-January 1944.
The opening of the Beta building on March 11, 1944 led to further disappointment.
X-10’s mission was to develop and test the experimental Graphite Reactor, which went critical in March 1944.
Navy research on atomic power, conducted primarily for submarines, received no direct aid from Groves, who, in fact, was not up-to-date on the state of navy efforts when he received a letter on the subject from Oppenheimer in April 1944.
Abelson was building a plant to produce enriched uranium to be completed by early July 1944.
Y-12 was in trouble as 1944 began, and the plutonium pile projects (X-10) were just getting underway.
As the K-25 stock continued to drop and plutonium prospects remained uncertain, Lawrence lobbied yet again for further expansion of Y-12, arguing that it provided the only possible avenue to a bomb by 1945.
A quick analysis demonstrated that a thermal diffusion plant could indeed be built at Oak Ridge and placed in operation by early 1945.
In 1946, X-10 began producing peacetime radioisotopes for use in industry, agriculture, medicine and research.
Judith's Theater membership card, 1947, Oak Ridge
In 1950 the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology was established with two courses in reactor operation and safety; almost 1000 students graduated.
The US Army contracted portable nuclear reactors in 1953 for heat and electricity generation in remote military bases.
ORNL designed and tested a nuclear-powered aircraft in 1954 as a proof-of-concept for a proposed USAF fleet of long-range bombers, although it never flew.
Alvin Weinberg was named Director of Research, ORNL, and in 1955 Director of the Laboratory.
The Health Physics Research Reactor built in 1962 was used for radiation exposure experiments leading to more accurate dosage limits and dosimeters, and improved radiation shielding.
The project, called Water for Peace, was backed by John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and presented at a 1964 United Nations conference, but increases in the cost of construction and falling public confidence in nuclear power caused the plan to fail.
In 1964 the Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment began with the construction of the reactor.
The High Flux Isotope Reactor built in 1965 had the highest neutron flux of any reactor at the time.
In the 1970’s, the site began ecological and biological research concerning the environmental effects and safety of nuclear power plants.
In 1972 the AEC held a series of public hearings where emergency cooling requirements were highlighted and the safety requirements became more stringent.
Also in 1972, Peter Mazur, a biologist at ORNL, froze with liquid nitrogen, thawed and implanted mouse embryos in a surrogate mother.
In 1974 Alvin Weinberg, director of the lab for 19 years, was replaced by Herman Postma, a fusion scientist.
In 1977 construction began for 6 metre (20 foot) superconducting electromagnets, intended to control fusion reactions.
ORNL was involved in analysing the damage to the core of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station after the accident in 1979.
In 1981, the Holifield Heavy Ion Research Facility, a 25 MV particle accelerator, was opened at ORNL. At the time, Holifield had the widest range of ion species and was twice as powerful as other accelerators, attracting hundreds of guest researchers each year.
Until 1985, K-25 produced fuel for civilian nuclear power reactors around the world.
Since nuclear non-proliferation reduced the need for weapons, the K-25 plant ceased gaseous diffusion operations in 1987.
In 1987 the High Temperature Materials Laboratory was established, where ORNL and industry researchers cooperated on ceramic and alloy projects.
The five older reactors were subjected to safety reviews in 1987, ordered to be deactivated until the reviews were complete.
By 1989 when the High Flux Isotope Reactor was restarted the US supply of certain medical isotopes was depleted.
In 1992, a whistleblower, Charles Varnadore, filed complaints against ORNL, alleging safety violations and retaliation by his superiors.
The text for this page was taken and adapted from the United States Department of Energy's official Manhattan Project history: F. G. Gosling, The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb (DOE/MA-0001; Washington: History Division, Department of Energy, January 1999), 19-26, 31-32.
K-25 cost $512 million to build, or $6.5 billion in 2010 dollars.
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Oak Ridge National Laboratory competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Alamos National Laboratory | 1943 | $15.5M | 10,001 | 394 |
| Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory | 1952 | $8.8M | 7,411 | 201 |
| Argonne National Laboratory | 1946 | $180.0M | 4,370 | 220 |
| Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | 1965 | $91.0M | 4,922 | 292 |
| Battelle | 1923 | $6.2B | 3,200 | 233 |
| Brookhaven National Laboratory | 1947 | $5.5B | 2,894 | 3 |
| American Nuclear Society | 1954 | $50.0M | 50 | - |
| National Science Foundation | - | - | 1,700 | - |
| Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | 1931 | $32.0M | 5,000 | - |
| Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 1951 | $34.0M | 556 | - |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory history FAQs
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