President Neeli Bendapudi, with other university leadership and representatives from nuclear engineering, meets with staff and faculty at the Radiation Science and Engineering Center. Credit: Kate Kenealy. All Rights Reserved.
President Bendapudi visits the nations first licensed nuclear reactor
August 25, 2026
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Earlier this summer, President Neeli Bendapudi and other university leadership toured the Penn State Radiation Science and Engineering Center’s Neutron Beam Laboratory and Breazeale Nuclear Reactor.
University Park is home to one of 25 college-affiliated research and test reactors in the United States. The Breazeale Reactor—named for the facility’s first director—has sat on the southeast corner of campus since 1955. Recent additions have expanded the capabilities of the research tool, making it “both the oldest and newest,” says current director Dr. Kenan Ünlü.
President Bendapudi meets with student operators and reactor staff in the control room. Credit: Kate Kenealy. All Rights Reserved.
Bendapudi was joined by Senior Vice President for Research Andrew Read; Interim Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering Thomas F. La Porta; Vice President and General Counsel Tabitha Oman; Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer Jennifer Wilkes; and the Interim Department Head for the Ken and Mary Alice Linquist Department of Nuclear Engineering Jon Schwantes.
Included among the stops on the tour was the Neutron Beam Laboratory, where years of planning and effort have resulted in the Radiation Science & Engineering Center becoming the first and only U.S. university research reactor to host a small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) device. The device, donated from Hemholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) in Germany, was completed earlier this year. A position for a SANS scientist has been created, and Penn State is currently accepting applications.
Research Engineer Dan Beck, Associate Director Jeff Geuther, Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering Amanda Johnsen, Director Kenan Ünlü, and visitors are standing with the newly installed Small Angle Neutron Scattering equipment in the Neutron Beam Laboratory. Credit: Kate Kenealy. All Rights Reserved
Interest in nuclear science has grown with national efforts to revitalize the nuclear energy sector. Earlier this year, Penn State entered a memorandum of understanding with Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Company to develop a second research test reactor and support summer internships. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has chosen Penn State for a $2M grant for nuclear workforce development and a $6M grant to support revitalization of nuclear facilities and equipment.
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