Director of the Radiation Science & Engineering Center, Kenan Ünlü, speaking at the Official Program and ribbon cutting ceremony in the newly expanded neuron beam hall. Credit: Penn State/Tyler Henderson. All rights reserved.
Penn State marks 70 years of nuclear research
Aug. 23, 2025
In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower proposed to the United Nations a plan to encourage peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. Part of the Atoms for Peace project allowed civilians at universities access to nuclear reactors for research and development.
On July 8, 1955—Penn State received the first license for a nuclear facility in the United States. On Aug. 15, 1955—the reactor went critical for the first time.
Seventy years later, the Penn State Breazeale Nuclear Reactor remains the cornerstone of the nation’s university reactor fleet; and with the expansion of the neutron beam hall and addition of Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) equipment, it’s the most recently built as well.
To celebrate 70 years of research, education, outreach, and service, as well as the completion of the SANS installation, the reactor hosted nearly 200 alumni and distinguished guests at a ceremony on August 13.
Credit: Kate Kenealy©2025
“In 1955, we were the first university in the country to receive a reactor license… and that was thanks to the vision of Dean Eric Walker and the support of our University President Milton Eisenhower,” noted David Kleppinger, chair of the Penn State Board of Trustees. Kleppinger recognized several other trustees who were in attendance before turning the stage over to Fotis Sotiropoulos, the executive vice president and provost. Sotiropoulos added, “I think it’s important to keep in mind that these facilities are more than instruments. They are catalysts for collaboration, discovery, and education.”
Penn State Board of Trustees Chair, David M. Kleppinger speaking at the Official Program and Ribbon Cutting ceremony in the expanded Neutron Beam Hall. Credit: Penn State/Tyler Hederson. All rights reserved.
Penn State Executive Vice President and Provost, Fotis Sotiropoulos. Credit: Penn State/Tyler Hederson. All rights reserved.
Penn State Vice President for Research, Andrew Read. Credit: Penn State/Tyler Hederson. All rights reserved.
Other speakers included Andrew Read, senior vice president for research; Tonya Peeples, The Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering; Alice Caponiti, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategic Crosscuts at the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy; Jon Schwantes, acting department head and professor in the Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering; Daniel Clemens, deputy department head-instrument transfer at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (the facility which donated the SANS equipment to Penn State); John Kotek, senior vice president of policy development and public affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI); and remarks via video from Susan Eisenwhower, CEO of The Eisenhower Group, Inc. and granddaughter of President Dwight Eisenhower.
The Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering, Tonya Peeples. Credit: Penn State/Tyler Hederson. All rights reserved.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategic Crosscuts in the Office of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy. Credit: Penn State/Tyler Hederson. All rights reserved.
CEO of the Eisenhower Group and grandaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Susan Eisenhower, giving remarks via video recording.
The program was followed by a banquet at the Nittany Lion Inn that evening, where former Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Laura Holgate, gave the keynote address titled, Atomic Dualities: Risks, Rewards, and Responsibilities.
“The training, research, and operation of the Breazeale Reactor sets a high standard for creating the people, the knowledge, and the experience we need if we’re to continue to be responsible keepers of the two phased atom,” stated Ambassador Holgate.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations International Organizations in Vienna, Laura Holgate, giving the keynote address at the 70th Anniversary banquet in the Nittany Lion Inn. Credit: Kate Kenealy©2025
Remarks at the banquet were also given by Brenden Heidrich, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science Users Facility; Douglas Wolfe, associate vice president for research and director of strategic initiatives; Patricia Loftus, alumna and co-founder of the Penn State Nuclear Engineering Society; and video remarks by former Program Chair and Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Arthur Motta.
Director of the Nuclear Science Users Facilities (NSUF), Brenden Heidrich. Credit: Kate Kenealy©2025
Associate Vice President for Research and Director of Stategic Initiatives at Penn State (AVPR-SI), Douglas Wolfe. Credit: Kate Kenealy©2025
Director of the Radiation Science & Engineering Center, Professor Kenan Ünlü closed the day with an optimistic vision of the future and video remarks from a former student operator and current Deputy chairman of the Nuclear Energy Agency of Kazakhstan, Asset Makhambetov, who credited his experience at the Breazeale Reactor for his accomplishments.
You can watch the entire program below:
LAST UPDATED AUG. 29, 2025
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