Atomic Pioneers Archives - Atomic Insights

Ted Rockwell – thank you for a productive life and for your friendship

Rod Adams · April 4, 2013 · 38 Comments

On Sunday, March 31, 2013, the world lost a nuclear energy pioneer. I lost a friend and mentor. Ted Rockwell passed away in his sleep during the wee hours of the morning on Easter Sunday. He was 90 years old; his death was the end result of a brief illness from which he was unable to recover.

Atomic Insights readers and Atomic Show listeners have frequently read Ted’s words and listened to his stories. He lived an admirably productive life, participated in the creation of some amazing technology and produced several fine works of history and creative writing. He was a tireless campaigner for facts, a warm and friendly individual and a witty conversationalist.

I will miss his ready willingness to give good advice and his valuable assistance on important technical information issues. Most importantly, I will miss our frequent conversations on the wide variety of pressing problems that can be alleviated by increasing use of nuclear fission energy. These short clips do a pretty good job of illustrating Ted’s personality and technical opinions:

Rockwell: Nothing compares to nuclear

Rockwell: Waste can be stored anywhere

Additional Reading

ANS Nuclear Cafe (April 2, 2013) Ted Rockwell, Atomic Pioneer and Tireless Campaigner for Facts

Nuclear Townhall Ted Rockwell, RIP: Nuclear’s Cockeyed Optimist

Atomic Show #191 – 70th Anniversary of CP-1, the First Controlled Fission Chain Reaction

Rod Adams · December 2, 2012 · 10 Comments

On Sunday, December 2, 2012, I gathered together a group of nuclear professionals to talk about the impact to human history of the construction and operation of Critical Pile 1 (CP-1). That simple assembly of graphite, uranium, and uranium dioxide was built in about 6 weeks. When measurements taken during construction indicated that the system [...]

December 2, 1942 – Two pioneers present at dawn of fission era

Rod Adams · December 2, 2012 · 2 Comments

In the summer of 2012, Argonne National Laboratory recorded the first hand memories of two members of the group of 49 engineers, scientists and students who were present when mankind first proved that it could control a fission chain reaction. Just imagine – you can watch a very recently recorded account from people who were [...]

The Atomic Show #163 – Four Women in Nuclear Energy

Rod Adams · February 16, 2011 · 3 Comments

On February 15, 2011, I gathered together a terrific group of four women who are each making a significant contribution to the expansion of nuclear energy and nuclear knowledge in the United States. I hope you enjoy the conversation and the stories. Meredith Angwin blogs at Yes Vermont Yankee and is the Director of the [...]

The Atomic Show #133 – Todd Tucker, Author Atomic America

Rod Adams · May 27, 2009 · 2 Comments

Atomic America has a thought provoking subtitle – “How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral Changed the Course of Nuclear History”. The unifying story through the book is one that most nuclear trained people know a little about – the accident at the Army’s SL-1 that took place on January 3, 1961. In Atomic [...]

The Atomic Show #086 – Howard Shaffer – voluntary nuclear educator

Rod Adams · March 20, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Howard Shaffer is a Rickover selected former Navy nuclear officer, he helped to build and operate several plants in the US and Taiwan, and volunteered throughout his career to share nuclear information with anti-nuclear advocates. Howard Shaffer is a retired nuclear engineer who received his initial nuclear training and experience as a member of the [...]

The Atomic Show #075 – Ted Rockwell, Atomic Pioneer, tells Shippingport Atomic Power Station Story

Rod Adams · December 20, 2007 · Leave a Comment

Ted Rockwell has been there and done that when it comes to nuclear power plant design and construction. He was a key member of the team that built the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the first solely commercial nuclear electric generating station in the world. On December 18, 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station started supplying [...]

The Atomic Show #070 – Lighting Arco, Idaho

Rod Adams · September 30, 2007 · 4 Comments

Ray Haroldsen tells the story of how BORAX III became the first US nuclear plant to supply electricity to a town. In the fall of 1954, the US Atomic Energy Commission learned that the Soviet Union was planning to participate for the first time in the annual International Atomic Energy Agency conference on nuclear energy. [...]

The Atomic Show #069 – Ray Haroldsen, Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 stories

Rod Adams · September 23, 2007 · Leave a Comment

Ray Haroldsen, back by popular demand, shares some more stories about his experiences on the technical team of the EBR-1, including some information about the results of the core melt that occurred in Nov 1955. Last week, Ray Haroldsen shared some of his memories as a member of the technical team at the National Reactor [...]

The Atomic Show #067 – Interview with Bob Bromm, Mechanical Engineer

Rod Adams · September 13, 2007 · 3 Comments

Bob Bromm is a professional mechanical engineer. He has recently been assigned to a new job with the team that has a contract to provide architect-engineering services for a two reactor ABWR for NRG. As we have discussed on a number of occasions, the renaissance in atomic energy has begun. For show 67, I had [...]