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Memorial Tributes Volume 19 (2015) / Chapter Skim
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THEODORE ROCKWELL
Pages 263-268

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From page 264...
... In 1949 he was recruited by then Captain Hyman Rickover to work in the nascent Naval Nuclear Power Program, and in 1954 he became technical director at Naval Reactors, responsible to Admiral Rickover for developing criteria, procedures, and facilities for safe operation of the nuclear Navy as well as for the first commercial nuclear power plant at Shippingport, Pennsylvania. In 1964 he left Naval Reactors and with two colleagues founded MPR Associates, with the prime objective of achieving engineering excellence applied to major problems.
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From page 265...
... His many awards include distinguished service medals from both the US Navy and the Atomic Energy Commission, and the first American Nuclear Society Lifetime Contribution Award, thereafter known as the Rockwell Lifetime Achievement Award. One of his patents is a "landmark US Atomic Energy Patent." He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001 and in 2003 was the first NAE-sponsored Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer.
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From page 266...
... Ted's designs did not assume naval personnel were heroes in dangerous service and needed to take risks: his implementation of shielding had to be safe for fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, not heroes. Ted was a lifelong outspoken visionary, who consistently produced elegant real-world implementation of his visions and considered engineering the highest professional calling.
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From page 267...
... 268 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES Ted responded to those urgent needs over and over during his long life and in his own cheerful, bold, and inspiring way. The closing words on Ted's life are also his own: "I like to stir up spirited discussions on important issues.
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Key Terms

  • admiral rickover
  • naval reactors
  • american nuclear
  • mpr associates
  • naval personnel

  • secret uranium
  • engineering department
  • relentless attention
  • fundamental reference
  • brilliant mind

  • alternate realities
  • disaster preparedness
  • power plant
  • princeton chemical
  • distinguished service

  • produced elegant
  • ried mary
  • world nuclear
  • philosophical society
  • founded mpr

  • nuclear university
  • edward teller
  • naval institute
  • hard work
  • consistently produced

  • pro bono
  • nascent naval
  • include distinguished
  • achievement award
  • health physics


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