Oregon State University. Dept. of History.

Nuclear research and education began at OSU soon after World War II. In the 1950s, the first classes in nuclear physics and radiochemistry were taught, and in 1955 a cyclotron was constructed. A graduate program in nuclear engineering was established in 1959. In the early 1960s, a committee recommended that a research lab be established to house nuclear and radiation facilities. Funding was secured in the fall of 1962, and construction began in early 1964. The labs were occupied in August 1964 and the research reactor was completed in January 1967.

Oregon State University was among the first in the nation to offer an undergraduate curriculum in nuclear engineering. In 1968 the first Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering was awarded. The Nuclear Engineering Department was established as a separate entity in 1972. In the early 1980s, the Radiation Health Physics graduate program was transferred from the General Science Department to the Department of Nuclear Engineering. In 1991, an undergraduate program in Radiation Health Physics was established.

...