Research and educational activities at the MIT Research Reactor : Fiscal year 1968

Abstract

A report of research and educational activities which utilized the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, five-megawatt, heavy water, research reactor during fiscal year 1968 has been prepared for administrative use at MIT and for presentation to the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. The latter action is required by Contract AT(30-1)-1967 under which the AEC provides the fully-enriched uranium-235 fuel and the heavy-water moderator-coolant for the reactor. Research projects at MIT which make significant use of the MITR are described, and principal participating personnel are named. Listings are provided of theses, reports, journal articles, and conference papers resulting from these projects during fiscal year 1968. A comprehensive bibliography of earlier publications was contained in Report No. MITNE-91 "Research and Educational Activities at the MIT Research Reactor To and Including Fiscal Year 1967". That report lists essentially all documents of these types which are concerned with the design, operation, or research use of the MITR from the time its construction was first contemplated at the Institute until June 30, 1967. In addition to the educational value derived from the many research activities by the students who participated in them, training in several areas of nuclear technology is imparted through formal courses designed to make use of the reactor or its research projects. The courses are briefly described, and attendance figures are given. Detailed information concerning the research activities of the numerous other universities, hospitals, and commercial companies which have used the MITR for irradiations is not available, but these organizations and also the materials irradiated are listed. The reactor, its purpose, its organization, and a summary of operations are briefly described in order to provide a more complete understanding of the MITR program.