• Chicago Pile 1 (CP-1) was the
    world's first nuclear reactor
    BUILT BY ENRICO FERMI AND HIS TEAM
    IN 1942 AT THE UNIVERITY OF CHICAGO
    It signaled the birth of a new era...
    ...and the start of our Laboratory
  • Within a decade of Fermi's first reactor, Argonne
    designed, built and tested numerous reactor proto-
    types, including thermal and fast breeder reactors...
    Argonne even developed the reactor
    core for the U.S.S. Nautilus, the world's
    first atomic-powered submarine!
    Argonne's work is the basis for nearly
    all commercial nuclear power reactors used
    around the world, including evolving systems
    for future sustainable nuclear energy
    ARGONNE "SITE A" CIRCA 1946
  • Today, Argonne works on a broad range of some
    of the nation's most pressing challenges in science,
    energy, environment, and national security
    Fermi's legacy continues today as part of the
    mission of Argonne's Nuclear Engineering division,
    whose work continues to advance the science and
    technology foundations for nuclear energy
  • Our vision is the realization of sustainable nuclear
    energy as a safe, secure, carbon-free energy source to
    support global economic growth and prosperity
    Argonne provides national leadership
    for DOE's Advanced Reactor Technologies
    and Fuel Cycles R&D Programs
    We have world leading expertise in reactor and fuel cycle physics,
    reactor design & safety, separations science, and materials science
    PLUS SYNERGISTIC PROGRAMS IN CONVERSION OF
    RESEARCH REACTORS & MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION TO LEU
    FUELS & MATERIALS EXPERTISE THAT SUPPORTS LIFE EXTENSION,
    IMPROVED OPERATION OF CURRENT AND EVOLVING PLANTS
    We utilize Argonne's world-class facilities such as the
    Advanced Photon Source and Leadership Computing Facility
    ...as well as our unique facilities for testing
    and validation of reactor concepts and components
  • Research Reactors
    Argonne has a distinguished history of
    advancing our nation's nonproliferation goals
    This includes our long-standing work to convert
    research and test reactors worldwide to use low-
    rather than high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel
    TRIGA POOL-TYPE RESEARCH REACTOR
    We use our engineering expertise to develop
    designs that eliminate the need for HEU fuel, while
    preserving facility mission requirements
    70 facilities have been converted in 38
    countries since we started this work in 1978
    RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTION OF HEU USAGE WORLDWIDE
    AND THE ASSOCIATED RISK OF THE SPREAD OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
  • Computing
    Argonne has used computers for much of its history. This was the Lab's first computer, AVIDAC (1953).
    Argonne provides leadership to
    DOE's Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling
    and Simulation (NEAMS) program
    Our reactor engineering codes and enabling tools for high
    performance computing are internationally recognized
    We also use the world's most
    powerful supercomputers, such as
    MIRA at Argonne's Leadership
    Computing Facility
  • Simulation
    This is an example of a complex simulation requiring
    a powerful supercomputer. It models coolant flow
    in a sodium-cooled fast reactor.
    The distorted (eddy current) flow along the
    side is due to the helical wire-wrapped fuel
    pins used to space the fuel and promote
    mixing to reduce hot spots
    It used a billion grid points and ran on
    65536 computer processors!
FIRST REACTOR
ADVANCED REACTORS & FUEL CYCLES
RESEARCH REACTORS
COMPUTING & SIMULATION
END TOUR