Missouri S&T is home to the state’s first nuclear reactor. Operational since 1961 and one of only three nuclear reactors in Missouri, the S&T reactor is used for research, onsite tours, education, including distance courses for universities that have no reactor, and practical training. S&T nuclear engineering students can obtain their operator’s license by operating the reactor through the university’s training program. At full power (200 kilowatts), the pool reactor’s core produces some 5.4 trillion fissions per second. The resulting energy creates a blue glow in the pool. The greater the number of fissions, the more intense the glow.

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Ashley (Koesterer) and Michael Pickler

Ashley (Koesterer) and Michael Pickler

Ashley (Koesterer) and Michael Pickler met in an English class at S&T in 2012 and started walking together after class….

Jacquelyn (Stroble) and Robert Nagel

Jacquelyn (Stroble) and Robert Nagel

Jacquelyn (Stroble) and Robert Nagel met in 2005 during their first semester as graduate students. “We both took the same…

A civil war fortress

A civil war fortress

As the Civil War raged on, the Union Army, following a defeat at Wilson’s Creek in southwest Missouri, fell back…

James Kreilich and Mary Jane Naeger

James Kreilich and Mary Jane Naeger

James Kreilich and Mary Jane Naeger went to school together at Valle High School in 1960, but it wasn’t until…

Ron Epps: getting the job at NASA

Ron Epps: getting the job at NASA

After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1967, Ron Epps began a long and illustrious career at NASA...

Erin Hayden and Matthew Garger

Erin Hayden and Matthew Garger

Although Erin Hayden and Matthew Garger were both students at S&T for an overlapping year, they didn’t meet until the…