A family affair: Four generations of Corsbergs have found their passion at INL
For 75 years, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and its predecessors have drawn people from all over the world to the ever-growing community of southeastern Idaho. The laboratory has also brought opportunities to families already living within that community. For the Corsberg family, working at the INL complex throughout its many name changes, different contractors and […]
A cloverleaf of innovation: INL releases custom smart watch faces to commemorate 75 years of innovation
Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) stands as a lasting monument to an innovative idea born on a twilight ride home across the Snake River Plain. The word “cloverleaf” best describes ATR’s innovative core design. Early nuclear engineers built ATR to improve fuel performance in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear fleet. Fifty-seven years later, […]
From WWII bombers to desert drones: INL’s aviation history predates atomic energy
Matthew Balderree first encountered drones in 2004 as a technical sergeant in the U.S. Air Force working with an early warning and airspace management radar system in Iraq. For Balderree, that airspace included predator drones, unmanned aircrafts used in numerous military conflicts starting in 1995. In the Air Force, new technology wasn’t always user friendly, […]
Daughter of World War II airman killed in training accident visits Idaho crash site
In late June, Roberta Armstrong came as close as she would ever get to her father, Lt. Robert W. Madsen, a U.S. Army Air Corps member who died in a World War II training accident on the Idaho desert. Armstong’s mother didn’t even know she was pregnant in January 1944 when she learned her husband […]
Humble hero: The story of INL’s Medal of Honor recipient
There’s no way of knowing for sure, but there was probably no more reluctant a war hero than Sgt. David Bleak. A Medal of Honor recipient for heroism in the Korean War – his story of courage under fire is an incredible one – Bleak was much happier talking about farming, Western novels or his […]
Driving into the future: Four decades and counting of battery research
Known as the nation’s nuclear laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory is not as widely recognized for its leadership in battery research. Yet, INL experts have conducted energy storage systems research for four decades of the lab’s 75-year history, almost as long as the nation has invested in electric vehicle technologies. In 1976, Congress passed the Electric […]
Mary Dee Grimm looks back across 62 years at INL
It all began with a coat… Crazy as it might sound, Mary Dee Grimm’s lifelong appreciation for fashion was part of what attracted her to Idaho National Laboratory many years ago and kept her on board to become the longest serving employee in the lab’s history. In the mid-1950s, when she was still Mary Dee […]
Family connection: EBR-I visit leads to unexpected emotions for atomic pioneer’s grandson
History has a way of sneaking up on a person. In Cuyler Cameron’s case, it was in the summer of 2022, when he was on a road trip from Colorado to Oregon. Westbound on U.S. Highway 20, he saw the Idaho National Laboratory sign, which made him think immediately of his grandfather, Reid Anderson Cameron […]
Research across cultures: Relationships between INL and Japanese scientists throughout history
In her kitchen, Keiko “Kay” Rohrdanz pours tea into small mugs decorated with blue leaves. Her two Dobermans circle around her, eager for a taste of the cake she’s putting onto a plate. Her home is a mix of traditional Japanese and American décor, and she radiates hospitality as she sits down with me and […]
From copper wires to supercomputers
Telecommunications in eastern Idaho today are vastly different from how they were in 1949, the year the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) founded the National Reactor Testing Station, now Idaho National Laboratory. The days of copper wire, switchboard exchanges and phone numbers beginning with names (JAckson for Idaho Falls, SUnset for Blackfoot, SHerwood for Rigby) have […]
The original Site history: Stories from, relationships with the Shoshone-Bannock people
Editor’s note: This story is partially adapted from a Tribal historical write-up titled “The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.” One story about the land where the Idaho National Laboratory Site now sits begins with a muskrat. In the “Legend of Creation” held by the Bannock Tribe, the area used to be “nothing but water.” As the story goes, […]
INL at 75: Early impacts on Idaho Falls community
In Idaho Falls’ 159-year history, it would be hard to dispute the importance of May 18, 1949. That’s the day the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) announced the city as the location for its National Reactor Testing Station headquarters. In type size normally reserved for events like Pearl Harbor or Kennedy’s assassination, the Post Register’s […]
Hidden pieces of Idaho National Laboratory history
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Idaho National Laboratory has a long and rich history, dating back to its founding in 1949 as the National Reactor Testing Station. Over the years, the lab has played a major role in the development of nuclear energy and other technologies. Pieces of that history can be found in the most […]
70 years of nuclear research on display at EBR-I
70 years ago on Dec. 20, 1951, Experimental Breeder Reactor-I (EBR-I) became the first power plant in the world to generate electricity using atomic energy.
Bringing the past to life: Interns use EBR-I Atomic Museum to educate the public about nuclear energy’s past and future
Several former INL interns turned employees talk about their time as EBR-I Atomic Museum tour guides.
Groundbreaking, world-trekking chemist Bernice Paige cut a wide swath in INL’s early days
Although it’s hard to calculate the total brainpower of INL over its history, it’s impossible to imagine it without Bernice Paige.
Idaho Site Historical artifact proves invaluable for modern radiation safety
Much of the research occurring at Idaho National Laboratory focuses on science, however, INL is also home to history that has shaped the its work.
Way Out West: Museum of Idaho enters a new era with expanded space, permanent exhibit
A permanent “Way Out West” exhibit is scheduled to open Jan. 23, 2021 at the Museum of Idaho in Idaho Falls.
Desert memories: Sisters recall living on land where INL Site now located
Two former residents of Idaho Falls and Arco have memories of the INL desert from when they were very, very young.
Seeing double: Twin sisters find careers at Idaho’s national lab
With ties to the lab dating back to the 1950s, two INL employees followed in their grandfather’s footsteps by pursuing careers at the Site.