Oregon State University's oral history collections cover a broad range of voices from nuclear history. Some selections include:
How OSU Grew Nuclear Science Oral History Collection, 2009-2010
This oral history collection consists of interviews of Oregon State University faculty and alumni in the Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics Department that were conducted as part of the 50th anniversary of the graduate program in 2009. The collection includes transcripts of all of the interviews (12), digital sound recordings for 10 interviews, biographical information, and signed releases. Interviews with the following 12 individuals are part of the collection: Shirley Campbell, Wes Frey, Gordon Little, Camille Lodwick, Grant McCallum, Wanda Munn, Todd Palmer, Don Reed, Roman Schmitt, Stephen H. Shepherd, Thomas Van Witbeck and David Willis.
Chih Wang, 1986
Chih H. Wang was Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Radiation Center, and Head of the Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering at Oregon State University. He was responsible for the growth of nuclear science research on the Oregon State University campus and the creation of the OSU Radiation Center. At OSU, Wang’s research focused on uses of radioisotopes. He was very involved in the effort to build a radiation center on campus to support research and teaching. He then lobbied to build a reactor as well, making OSU one of the few universities in the country housing a functioning nuclear reactor. He was likewise instrumental in the creation of the Department of Nuclear Engineering. In his retirement, Wang focused on supporting the American Nuclear Society. He concludes the interview by describing the impact of the environmental movement on the nuclear power industry, and admits that he worries what will happen if the country does not have a strong nuclear power industry in the event of an energy crisis.
Julie Bentz, 2013
Julie Bentz (b. 1964) graduated from Oregon State University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Radiological Health. A United States Army Major General, Bentz, at the time of this interview, served as the Director, Strategic Capabilities Policy on the National Security Staff within the Executive Office of the President. While attending OSU, she was involved in the university's army ROTC program. The Bentz oral history interview covers her educational, social, and military experiences at OSU.
Michael Driscoll, 2013
Michael Driscoll (b. 1942) is a 1970 OSU graduate and an Atomic Veteran. Driscoll spent four years in the Navy, much of that time on an aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown. During his service on the Yorktown, Driscoll was exposed to two nuclear blasts - Operation Frigate Bird and Operation Swordfish - both detonated in May 1962 as part of the Dominic I series of atmospheric tests. Driscoll is one of an estimated 400,000 U.S. military personnel subjected to nuclear tests of this type. Much of his interview details the specifics of his experiences as an Atomic Veteran, beginning in May 1962 and running to present day.
Jack Higginbotham, 2015
Jack Higginbotham (b. 1958) has been a member of OSU's Nuclear Engineering faculty since arriving in Corvallis in 1987, and has led the Oregon Space Grant program since 2002. During his years at Oregon State, Higginbotham has also served as Senior Reactor Operator and Senior Health Physicist at the OSU Radiation Center; chair of the Radiation Health Physics program; Associate Dean of the Graduate School; and President of the Faculty Senate. In a wide-ranging interview, Higginbotham discusses his education and academic work in nuclear science and engineering; his institutional memories of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science at OSU; and the activities of Oregon Space Grant during his years of association.
Walter Loveland, 2015
Walter Loveland (b. 1939) is a nuclear chemist who has been a member of the OSU faculty since 1968. A decorated scholar who has made important contributions to the study of super-heavy elements, Loveland enjoyed a twenty-three year collaboration with Glenn Seaborg (1912-1999), a Nobel laureate and fellow nuclear chemist who was based at the University of California, Berkeley. The organizer of a 2012 symposium to celebrate the centenary of Seaborg's birth, Loveland was honored by the American Chemical Society with the 2014 Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry, an acknowledgement of his key contributions to the understanding of super-heavy elements and heavy-element synthesis. In a wide-ranging interview, Loveland shares his institutional memories of nuclear chemistry and radiation science at OSU; recalls his work and friendship with Glenn Seaborg; and provides his perspective on cultural and academic change at Oregon State.
