(U-WIRE) ITHACA, N.Y.'Cornell University's nuclear research reactor, the last of its kind in New York and one of only 26 left in the country, will soon hit the graveyard, further endangering a rare technology in an era when nuclear engineering is on the rise.
The Board of Trustees voted unanimously last summer to decommission the reactor and close the Ward Center for Nuclear Studies, according to Henrik Dullea, vice president for University relations.
Heated controversy met the decision, which had been requested by President Hunter R. Rawlings III and recommended by a special faculty oversight committee.
The decision to decommission the reactor had been rejected by the full Faculty Senate under the grounds that the center provides 'a diverse array of service to the Cornell community and beyond.'
Despite efforts to keep the facility open and the announcement of a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help save the reactor and make it financially independent from the University, the reactor is scheduled to shut down June 30, 2002.
Because Cornell has not had a nuclear science and engineering program since 1996, the reactor is not used for nuclear science research.
But the reactor is operated by 17 faculty members from 12 different departments and four different colleges in a wide range of disciplines, including archeology, veterinary medicine and food science, according to Faculty Senate reports.
