John

The world appreciates Robert Oppenheimer for his development of the first atomic bombs that ended World War II. His legacy is in the creation of nuclear warfare. Clifford Beck, however, was a pioneer in turning Oppenheimer's bomb into fissionable materials to create the first civilian nuclear power plants. From Salisbury, Beck was educated at Catawba College, Vanderbilt and UNC, before going to work for the Manhattan Project and at the Oak Ridge Labs in Tennessee. At NC State, Beck started the first nuclear engineering academic program at any university, which thought so much of him and his work that it built him the world's first private research nuclear reactor. It is still operational on campus today. Cal's on-campus research reactor went online 15 years after NC State's and failed in 1985. The city of Berkeley quickly prohibited nuclear weapons-related activity within city limits. Beck was also a pioneer in creating oversight for responsible use of nuclear power via the Atomic Energy Commission. Neither Oppenheimer -- nor Tesh -- ever had his own research reactor. nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref…