In 1977 the ACS Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology (NUCL) conducted a national survey on the status of training of nuclear and radiochemists to address concerns expressed by Division membership. The survey indicated that there would be an inadequate supply of chemists with training in the fields of nuclear and radiochemistry to meet the growing demand. The reasons cited for this mismatch were dwindling numbers of nuclear faculty at universities, declining student interests, and a severe shortfall in research funding for nuclear and radiochemistry. To address the issue of declining student interest, the NUCL began sponsoring with funding support from the US Department of Energy, an undergraduate fellowship entitled the “Summer School in Nuclear Chemistry.” The first summer school was held in 1984 at the San Jose State University for 12 students. Five years later at the request of the funding agency, the program was expanded to include a second summer school at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Over the history of the program ~685 undergraduates have participated and last summer marked the 30th anniversary of the first summer school at San Jose and the 25th for Brookhaven. This talk will describe the summer school program, how it began, the people responsible for making it happen, and some of the interesting aspects of the early years.

NUCL and the ACS/DOE summer school in nuclear chemistry: A historical perspective

249th National Meeting (2015)

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