On December 18, 2007, I celebrated the 50th anniversary of commercial nuclear power by spending about an hour with Dr. Theodore (Ted) Rockwell. Ted was a key member of the Shippingport design, construction and operation team that included the Naval Reactors branch of the Atomic Energy Commission, Duquesne Light Company and Westinghouse Electric Company. You can listen to our chat at Episode 75 of The Atomic Show Podcast
Ted shared some interesting anecdotes about the project and the people on the team. As always, he shared at least a couple of Rickover stories. As the author of The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made a Difference, Ted is one of the world’s foremost Rickover experts.
At the end of our talk, he also got into a bit of a rant about the reluctance of nuclear industry executives to get out in front and actually lead the development of a growing industry that can produce a product that the world desperately needs. I challenged him on the use of the term “no one” when he was talking about industry leaders, but I am not sure that he really believes me when I tell him that Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. is willing to lead in the development of a new nuclear industry. Oh well, very few other people believe me either. 🙂
