History

The Historic Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory (PDF)

Wright Lab site plan Bringing accelerator into Wright Lab
1961 D. Allan Bromley initiates design of the first MP (Emperor) tandem electrostatic accelerator.
1962 Yale submits a proposal for construction of Emperor accelerator to Atomic energy Commission: Construction contract signed with High Voltage Engineering, Dec. 27, 1962.
1964-66 A. W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory and the first MP tandem accelerator at Yale were constructed. Dedication October 5, 1966.
1965-67 Joint Study program involving Wright Laboratory at Yale and T.J. Watson Laboratory of IBM results in state-of-the-art data acquisition and control system at Wright Laboratory.
1974 The performance of MP tandem accelerator was upgraded through installation of new stainless steel acceleration tubes.
1978 A proposal for conversion of Yale MP tandem accelerator to STU status was submitted to Department of Energy.
1982 DOE approves MP-ESTU conversion on July, 1982.
1985 Research activity with MP tandem accelerator was terminated May 29, 1985 and conversion program was initiated.
1987 Terminal potential of 22.4 million volts was reached on July 4, 1987. Dedication of ESTU-1 accelerator facility, August 7, 1987.
2011 Operation of the ESTU tandem ends.
2013 Decommissioning of the ESTU and associated equipment begins. The Wright Lab’s new Director, Karsten Heeger, begins renovations of the facility as well as a new research program in nuclear, particle and astrophysics.
2016 The newly renovated Wright Lab opens for personnel.
2017 The Wright Lab’s public Opening Ceremony is held on May 16, 2017.

Wright Lab


Decommissioning

    Wikipedia Links

    Yale Wright Laboratory
    Science Hill (Yale University)
    Arthur Williams Wright
    Tandem van de Graaff