From Reactors to Reflection: My Journey in Building Nuclear Power Plants (1972-1985) - Part 1

My 13-year journey in constructing nuclear power plants began in 1972 when I worked as an apprentice draftsman at Stone & Webster in Boston, MA. However, before I delve into the details of my nuclear road trip, let me provide some context on why I chose a career in a traditionally male-dominated field in the 70s and what led me to start my journey in the Nuclear Industry. So, let’s look at the 50s and 60s as a young girl growing up and the technological changes that influenced me.

Building Blocks

I was fortunate to have parents who didn't confine me to the societal norms of the 50s and 60s regarding what toys or activities were appropriate for girls. I had dolls and a Barbie, but I also had building blocks and trucks. Every summer, my dad would dump a pile of sand in the backyard, and I would create cities and structures. I had dresses, but I also had cowboy clothes and boots. I would fish and catch frogs with my dad and participate in fishing and frog-jumping contests in our town. I joined our neighborhood playground girls' softball team during the summer and was a 6th-grade girls' basketball team member.

I was a curious young girl who liked adventure, sports, and building things. These attributes were not the expected societal norm for girls in the late 50s and early 60s.

Atoms for Peace

The 50s and 60s were an exciting time to grow up, surrounded by advancements in technology and science. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his "Atoms for Peace" speech to the United Nations. Commercial nuclear power generation was the cornerstone of his plan. During the 50s and 60s, the world harnessed atomic energy to generate power—first, the government test reactors, which led to public power plants.

The world's first full-scale power plant solely devoted to electricity production was the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania. Under the operations of Duquesne Light Company, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station was connected to the power grid on December 18, 1957.

The successful completion of Shippingport kicked off a flurry of nuclear plants being designed and built in the 60s and into the 70s. During this period, the public was very supportive of this new use of the atom, looking at it as a clean and cheap energy solution as an answer to rising electrical demands in the U.S. This perception would change over time. More to follow in Part 2.

The New Frontier

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik, and the race was on. The "Space Race" symbolized technological rivalry and broader ideological and political contestation between two superpowers, all while propelling humanity toward the stars. President Eisenhower inaugurated the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. NASA's establishment didn't necessarily mark the beginning of U.S. interest in science but brought more national attention to science education.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy initiated a dramatic expansion of the U.S. space program. On September 12, 1962, in a speech to 40,000 at Rice University's Stadium he began his speech by talking about space as the new frontier for all of mankind, and boldly committed the nation to the audacious goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”

Kennedy's vision and determination paved the way for remarkable scientific advancements and forever changed our understanding of space exploration. His ambitious objective galvanized American efforts and led to monumental technological advancements. I fondly remember watching all the historic space missions on TV, first on a black and white screen and then "watching in living color." We rose to the challenge President Kennedy laid out for us, and on July 20,1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the lunar surface. The Space Race continues today, but now with many different players involved.

The Rise of the Computer

Also, in the late 50s and 60s, computing underwent transformative advancements, evolving from room-sized mainframes to smaller, more versatile minicomputers by the mid-60s. Minicomputers were significantly more compact than their room-filling mainframe counterparts. While mainframes occupied entire rooms, minicomputers typically fit into one or a few 19-inch rack cabinets. Imagine a minicomputer roughly the size of a small desk, but it is still substantial compared to today's tablets and smartphones.

Mainframes dominated large-scale government, academia, and business operations, while minicomputers offered accessibility to smaller entities but were still very expensive. High-level programming languages like FORTRAN and COBOL emerged, streamlining software development. Computers were extensively used in scientific research, military applications, and business operations, performing tasks ranging from space exploration calculations to payroll processing.

Pre-STEM and Title X

The progress made in the Atoms for Peace, Space Race, and computing piqued my interest in science and technology. Mr. Wilson, my first male teacher in 6th grade, encouraged girls in the class to explore science and technology. His science classes exposed us to a fast-changing world as we studied space, energy, and computers. We learned about the developing technology that supported this rapidly changing world. We also discussed how these changes would impact our lives, both positively and negatively.

I was lucky to live in a progressive town that supported girls who wanted to explore sports and science before Title IX was enacted in 1972. Also, it was not until 2001 that the National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated STEM programs. Because I had open-minded parents and school teachers in the 50s and 60s, I never felt I had to stay in the traditional girl-only lane of the time, but a girl's life was open to play and explore all lanes of interests and activities. So, Mr. Wilson opened my eyes to how technology could advance our lives and how girls could be part of it.

Girls, Don't Do That

Two years later, in junior high school, I learned about a new high school being built that would focus on vocational and technical studies. I was very interested in technology, so I applied to enter the freshman class of their new electronics technology program. This program was designed as the art and science of understanding, designing, and manipulating electrical circuits and devices. It encompassed various topics, including circuit theory, electronics design, radio communication, early basic digital logic, and instrumentation.

However, during my 8th-grade homeroom class, a male student sitting before me turned around and said, "Girls, don't do that." This experience made me more determined to prove him wrong and not let anyone place limits on me. This experience provided me the backbone to stop and listen to my voice, not the noise of any naysayers I encountered on my journey.

What I Learned Attending a Technical High School

Blue Hills Technical High School was a regional school offering comprehensive vocational and technical academic programs on alternating week schedules. In my electronic technology program, there was only one other female classmate out of 13 students. Courses included both theoretical knowledge and hands-on practical training. We participated in five full days of academic instruction, alternating with five full days of vocational instruction in labs (or workshops) throughout the school year.

The curriculum was designed to meet the needs of the electronics industry of the 60s era. It included topics such as assembly line techniques, quality control, safety regulations, and industry standards prevalent at the time. While emphasizing practical skills, we were also taught foundational theoretical concepts in electronics. Topics included Ohm's Law, circuit analysis, semiconductor theory, basic digital electronics, and rudimentary digital logic.

The theoretical knowledge provided a framework for understanding how electronic devices and circuits functioned, complementing the practical training. The program for us during the 60s emphasized understanding electronic components at the individual level; thus, we learned about resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, and vacuum tubes (still used at the time) and how these components are used in circuits to perform various functions.

During our week's hands-on training sessions, we had access to a lab equipped with state-of-the-art tools and equipment commonly used in the electronics industry at the time. During the lab, we learned to use electronic test equipment such as multimeters, oscilloscopes, signal generators, and logic probes to analyze and troubleshoot circuits. Through practical exercises and projects, we also learned how to handle electronic components, soldering techniques, circuit assembly, and troubleshooting skills. When we were in the electronic lab, we wore uniforms; for us girls, we wore smocks. We punched attendance cards and checked out equipment from a tool room; each week, a different student was assigned the role of lab supervisor, and we ran assigned experiments with partners.

In 1970, when I graduated from Blue Hills, only six out of 80 students were women in my graduation class, which consisted of nine vocational programs. A mere 7.5% of my graduating class were women. Even though my high school years were before STEM, my teachers would all receive high marks, encouraging us to take risks and challenge norms and boosting our confidence when facing technology challenges in our lab and classes. In my lab, they promoted equitable opportunities for us girls, including running the equipment (tool) room and acting as lab supervisors.

My high school years prepared me for working in a male-dominated industry. I learned a systematic way of thinking and solving technical problems, writing technical reports, and working and managing a team. I explored how technology was rapidly advancing in the 1960s and how it would change how we worked and lived in the 1970s.

I also want to note that the 60s was a tumultuous decade to grow up in, marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and countercultural shifts. It began with optimism under President John F. Kennedy's promise of a "New Frontier," and we did land on the moon in 1969, but the decade also ended with social upheaval and political challenges. In a nutshell, the 60s were a rollercoaster ride of hope, conflict, and change.

Out of the Sandbox - Learning to Build Structures on Paper

When I started college in 1970, I switched my major to building structures, which aligned with my childhood interest in creating cities. I attended a 2-year Technical Institute (today it is merged with Massasoit Community College) and majored in an associate in applied sciences degree program in Civil/Structural Technology. I was the only woman in my class of 16 students. My architecture/structures teacher, Mr. Gordon O'Reilly, was a very supportive mentor, and his influence later led me to consider teaching construction management courses. One of my favorite classes was his testing lab, where we would mix concrete and test cylinders. As the only woman in the program, he offered help and encouragement with my design assignments and helped make me feel included in class discussions and exercises.

I cannot say the same for my civil engineering teacher, who was not helpful and questioned why I was taking engineering classes. He taught our surveying class and would decide, without scheduling, an outside surveying class during the winter when he saw that I had a skirt on. I did not complain and participated even if I was not dressed for an outside field activity. I was determined not to let him turn the assignment into an example of why women could not be civil engineers. Remember, this was 1970/71; most women wore skirts and dresses to classes. This lesson helped prepare me for the many tests I would face throughout my career.

From Slide Rule to Computers

During the early 70s, all our structural homework problems and quizzes were still hand-calculated on paper using a slide rule, or a huge, simple four-function adding machine that was available in the classroom for shared use. To give a time perspective, in 1971, a basic four-function hand calculator cost $245 to $150 (equivalent to $1,887 to $1,150 today). Five years later, Texas Instrument launched the TI-30, which could perform the same functions as a slide rule at a low cost of $25 (equivalent to $136 today), eliminating the use of the slide rule in the office.

However, our FORTRAN course introduced us to the power of computers. For those who have only known the power of today’s computer, FORTRAN (short for Formula Translation) is a high-level programming language specifically designed for scientific and engineering computations that we all learned in our college engineering programs. We first defined the structural problem we wanted to solve. We specified the geometry (lengths, angles, and connections) and loads (forces, moments) acting on the structural member, such as a truss. We wrote our programs on paper using coding sheets and then translated the instructions into a series of punch card commands. We used keypunch machines to create punch cards. These machines had a keyboard similar to a typewriter but with additional keys for punching holes.

For each line of code or data, we typed the appropriate characters and pressed a key to punch the corresponding holes in the card. The holes represented characters, numbers, or control codes. A program consisted of a stack of punch cards. The order of the cards determined the program's sequence. We carefully arranged the cards to ensure correct execution. We placed the program cards in a card reader to load a program. The reader fed the cards into the computer's memory. The computer executed the program step by step. Thus, the importance of the arranged cards. The computer's output was printed out on fan-folded paper, which listed calculated forces, deflections, stresses, and other relevant information. With the cost of the minicomputers and a teleprinter, only universities and large institutions invested in this technology. As a structural engineer in the early 70s, you would still hand-calculate all your designs.

Internships During College

During the summer, I interned for Yunits Engineering Company, where I worked as a mortgage surveyor. I located real estate property and assets, defined legal limits from descriptions, verified city regulations, and provided sketches from my field surveys and mapping. During the school year, I worked as a draftsperson for the Town of Canton Planning Board and provided mapping of water systems. Except for the secretaries in the office, I was the only professional woman working for both employers.

Ready - Set - Go

At this point in my career, I stopped recognizing that I was the only woman in the classroom or on the job during my internships. As I noted, only one other female was in my high school classes, and women represented a mere 7.5% of all graduating programs. I was also the only female in my classes during college, so this became the norm for me.

I learned to team up and work with the boys at a young age in high school. During these early years, I also faced challenges and learned lessons that helped prepare me to enter a male-dominated industry where I was about to enter and work for the next 52 years.

I learned firsthand how a teacher's influence can impact the interest and success of girls who pursue STEM careers. A single teacher can significantly contribute to fostering self-efficacy perceptions among girls and encourage them to take risks and challenge norms. During my early years, Mr. Wilson and Mr. O'Reilly, along with others played a significant role in preparing me for a successful career. I want to acknowledge and thank them for their support and encouragement.

Note: A drafter in the 70’s was called draftsmen, for my article I will continue to us the term to give context to the era. Today draftsperson is used as it is more gender neutral.

Part 2 - My Nuclear Apprenticeship

So, how did I get to the top of the nuclear reactor? More to follow in Part 2.