David Lanning, MIT professor emeritus of nuclear science and engineering and a key contributor to the MIT Reactor venture, handed away on April 26 on the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, on the age of 96.
Born in Baker, Oregon, on March 30, 1928, Lanning graduated in 1951 from the College of Oregon with a BS in physics. Whereas taking night time courses in nuclear engineering, in lieu of an accessible diploma program on the time, he began his profession path working for Common Electrical in Richland, Washington. There he carried out critical-mass research for dealing with and designing protected plutonium-bearing programs in separation crops on the Hanford Atomic Merchandise Operation, making him a pioneer in nuclear gasoline cycle administration.
Lanning was then concerned within the design, development, and startup of the Bodily Constants Testing Reactor (PCTR). As one of many few folks certified to function the experimental reactor, he educated others to soundly assess and deal with its extremely radioactive elements.
Lanning supervised experiments on the PCTR to seek out the essential situations of assorted lattices in a protected method and conduct reactivity measurements to find out relative flux distributions. This primed him to be an indispensable asset to the MIT Reactor (MITR), which was being constructed on the alternative aspect of the nation.
An early authority in nuclear engineering involves MIT
Lanning got here to MIT in 1957 to hitch what was being known as the “MIT Reactor Undertaking” after being recruited by the MITR’s designer and first director, Theos “Tommy” J. Thompson, to function one of many MITR’s first working supervisors. With solely a handful of individuals on the operations staff on the time, Lanning additionally accomplished the emergency plan and startup procedures for the MITR, which achieved criticality on July 21, 1958.
Along with changing into a college member within the Division of Nuclear Engineering in 1962, Lanning’s roles on the MITR went from reactor operations superintendent within the Nineteen Fifties and early Sixties, to assistant director in 1962, after which performing director in 1963, when Thompson went on sabbatical.
In his college place, Lanning took duty for supervising lab topics and analysis tasks on the MITR, together with the Heavy Water Lattice Undertaking. This venture supported the thesis work of greater than 30 college students doing experimental research of sub-critical uranium gasoline rods — together with Lanning’s personal thesis. He obtained his PhD in nuclear engineering from MIT in fall 1963.
Lanning determined to depart MIT in July 1965 and return to Hanford because the supervisor of their Reactor Neutronics Part. Regardless of not having plans to return to work for MIT, Lanning agreed when Thompson requested that he renew his MITR operator’s license shortly after leaving.
“Due to his thorough familiarity with our facility, it’s anticipated that Dr. Lanning could also be requested to return to MIT for momentary excursions of obligation at our reactor. It’s at all times attainable that there could also be modifications in the important thing personnel presently working the MIT Reactor and the attainable availability of Dr. Lanning to fill in, even briefly, could possibly be an important think about sustaining a excessive stage of competence on the reactor throughout its continued operation,” Theos J. Thompson wrote in a letter to the Atomic Vitality Fee on Sept. 21, 1965
One modification, many modifications
This was a useful determination to proceed the MITR’s success as a nuclear analysis facility. In 1969 Thompson accepted a two-year time period appointment as a U.S. atomic vitality commissioner and requested Lanning to return to MIT to take his place throughout his momentary absence. Thompson initiated feasibility research for a brand new MITR core design and believed Lanning was probably the most succesful particular person to proceed the duty of seeing the MITR redesign to fruition.
Lanning returned to MIT in July 1969 with a college appointment to take over the topics Thompson was educating, along with being co-director of the MITR with Lincoln Clark Jr. throughout the redesign. Tragically, Thompson was killed in a aircraft accident in November 1970, only one week after Lanning and his staff submitted the applying for the redesign’s development allow.
Thompson’s loss of life meant his duties had been now Lanning’s on a everlasting foundation. Lanning continued to completion the redesign of the MITR, identified in the present day because the MITR-II. The redesign elevated the neutron flux stage by an element of three with out altering its working energy — increasing the reactor’s analysis capabilities and refreshing its standing as a premier analysis facility.
Building and startup checks for the MITR-II had been accomplished in 1975 and the MITR-II went essential on Aug. 14, 1975. Administration of the MITR-II was transferred the next 12 months from the Nuclear Engineering Division to its personal interdepartmental analysis heart, the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory, the place Lanning continued to make use of the MITR-II for analysis.
Past the redesign
In 1970, Lanning mixed two reactor design programs he inherited and launched a brand new course by which he had college students apply their information and critique the design and financial concerns of a reactor introduced by a scholar in a previous time period. He taught these programs via the late Nineties, along with main new programs with different college for business professionals on reactor security.
Co-author of over 70 papers, many on the forefront of nuclear engineering, Lanning’s analysis included research to enhance the effectivity, cycle administration, and design of nuclear gasoline, in addition to making reactors safer and extra economical to function.
Lanning was a part of an ongoing analysis venture staff that launched and demonstrated digital management and automation in nuclear reactor management mechanisms earlier than any of the type had been present in reactors in the USA. Their analysis improved the regulatory limitations stopping industrial crops from changing getting older analog reactor management elements with digital ones. The venture additionally demonstrated that reactor operations could be extra dependable, protected, and economical by introducing automation in sure reactor management programs. This led to the MITR being one of many first reactors in the USA licensed to function utilizing digital know-how to regulate reactor energy.
Lanning turned professor emeritus in Could 1989 and retired in 1994, however continued his ardour for educating via the late Nineties as a thesis advisor and reader. His legacy lives on within the still-operational MITR-II, together with his former college students following in his footsteps by engaged on gasoline research for the following model of the MITR core.
Lanning is predeceased by his spouse of 60 years, Gloria Lanning, and is survived by his two youngsters, a brother, and his many grandchildren.
