The return of the nuclear engineering program

he Town of Castine is renowned for its historical sites and artifacts, many of which date to the Revolutionary War. Yet one curiosity, located on the MMA Waterfront, is largely forgotten and underappreciated: the Andrews Marine Engineering Laboratory, the birthplace of nuclear engineering at the Academy. What remains is a bronze plaque depicting a propeller, an anchor, and the atom icon, which is featured prominently in the top center.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy was in the White House, but the commercial nuclear industry was launched earlier under the Eisenhower administration as part of the Atoms for Peace program. A major highlight of that era was the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship, the NS Savannah. MMA alumni were integral in that technological showcase, as the NS Savannah’s crew included Chief Engineer Herbert C. Phelps ’57, First Engineer Lawrence W. Gribbin ’56, Second Engineer Richard L. Renner ’56, and Second Mate Charles B. Weeks, Jr. ’64. Renner returned to MMA in the 1960s and taught nuclear engineering coursework while Captain Weeks retired as Professor Emeritus of Marine Transportation and Nautical Science.

Reflecting on the significance of this monument, one is left with a deep sense of appreciation for the contributions and foresight of these alumni, as well as the faculty and administration at that time. Essentially, only twenty years after the founding of the Academy, the Andrews Marine Engineering Laboratory took the lead, ushering in the atomic age in Maine.