Ford Nuclear Reactor

The Ford Nuclear Reactor, located at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, was operational from 1957 to 2003 and served as a key facility for research in various fields including medicine, biology, and nuclear science. It was part of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, a memorial honoring WWII casualties from the university, and was funded by significant contributions, including $1 million from the Ford Motor Company. The reactor, a swimming pool type, was used for diverse applications such as food irradiation studies and isotope production. Although decommissioned, the reactor's building has been repurposed into the Nuclear Engineering Laboratory, which opened in 2017, continuing the legacy of research and innovation in sustainable energy.