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Memorial Tributes Volume 12 (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Alvin M. Weinberg
Pages 332-337

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From page 333...
... But he made his mark chiefly in scientific administration and science policy. Alvin moved to Oak Ridge in May 1945 to work at the Manhattan Project X-10 site, where the Clinton Pile, a pilot plant for producing plutonium, had been constructed.
From page 334...
... When the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) decided to centralize reactor development at Argonne and focus the work at Oak Ridge on chemical technology and isotope production, it was Alvin who made the case for continuing work on reactors at what officially became Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
From page 335...
... Thus ORNL acquired skills and flexibility that proved to be valuable assets during the early 1970s, when nuclear power fell into disfavor and environmental issues came to the fore, dramatically changing the research environment. By this time, however, Alvin's views on nuclear energy, especially his growing concerns about reactor safety, had placed him at odds with the AEC.
From page 336...
... . In 1975, Alvin returned to Oak Ridge as director of IEA, one of the first research institutions to investigate the greenhouse effect and to propose nuclear energy as an antidote to global warming.
From page 337...
... Weinberg Award in 1995 "in recognition of outstanding international technical and policy leadership in nuclear science and technology, and for consistently and effectively illuminating the human dimensions of the nuclear enterprise." Alvin was the first recipient. He also received dozens of other awards from a host of organizations; among the most prestigious were the Atoms for Peace Award in 1960 and DOE's Enrico Fermi Award in 1980.


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