Nuclear Engineering and Health Physics Program Photographs

Georgia Institute of Technology first offered nuclear engineering education at the graduate level only, beginning in the autumn of 1956. At this time the degree offered was a Master of Science in either nuclear engineering or nuclear science (later known as health physics). The first degrees in each track were awarded in 1958. Georgia Tech alumnus Frank Neely, was largely responsible for establishing nuclear engineering at Georgia Tech. In 1956, Neely helped organize the first Georgia Nuclear Advisory Commission. This commission was instrumental in bringing to Georgia Tech's campus one of the first nuclear reactors in the South. In 1963, the research center that housed the reactor was named in honor of Neely. Frank Neely and his wife Rae also helped Georgia Tech's nuclear engineering program by funding a professorship in nuclear engineering and health physics.

In July 1962, Georgia Tech established the School of Nuclear Engineering to administer its nuclear-related degrees. At this time the school began to recruit permanent staff and began planning for a PhD program. The school coordinated with the also recently established Nuclear Sciences Division at EES. In fact, Dr. William B. Harrison, head of that division, also served part-time as the first director of the newly-formed school.

The first faculty member for the School of Nuclear Engineering, Dr. Geoffrey G. Eichholz, was hired in 1963. However, the shortage of enough highly qualified instructors led to the first instance of interactive long distance education at Georgia Tech. In 1964 Dr. D.C. Hamilton, in charge of Reactor Engineering Science at Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology (TN), taught NE 601 from Oak Ridge to students in a classroom at the Neely Nuclear Research Center via 2-way speaker phone, television, and a Victor Electrowriter (a device that transmitted written material).

In 1964 the PhD in nuclear engineering was approved and the first doctorate was awarded the next year. In 1972 the nuclear science degree became the Master of Science in Health Physics and in 1979 the school was renamed the School of Nuclear Engineering and Health Physics. Meanwhile, the school was planning for an undergraduate program in nuclear engineering and in 1973 that bachelor's degree was approved.

The nuclear reactor was shut down in 1995 as a security measure in preparation for the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta. At the time it was the second most powerful university-based reactor in the nation. After the Olympics, Georgia Tech administration decided not to reactivate the reactor, instead opting for total decommission, a decision based partly upon the age of the reactor. Full decommissioning of the reactor was completed in 2002 and the building was razed in 2006 to make way for the Marcus Nanotechnology Building.

Today (2009) the program is known as the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering Program in the George W. Woodruff School. It offers a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering (B.S.N.R.E.), a general Master of Science (M.S.), a Master of Science in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering (M.S.N.E.), a Master of Science in Medical Physics, and a Doctor of Philosophy.