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ANS Announces the Passing of Fellow Leonard Koch, Pioneer of Nuclear Energy

Leonard Koch

The American Nuclear Society announces the passing of ANS Fellow Emeritus Leonard Koch on May 15, 2015, at the age of 95.

Koch was a pioneer in the development of the original concept of nuclear power and was a leading world expert on fast reactor technology. His research was a fundamental blueprint for the construction of nuclear plants globally.

A Chicago-native, he began working for Argonne National Laboratories in 1948 as a mechanical engineer, participating in the development, design, construction, and early operation of the world's first nuclear reactor called EBR-l. In 1950, Koch and nine of his Argonne colleagues moved to Idaho to complete EBR-I, and within three years the team designed and built the reactor. On its first test on Dec. 20, 1951, EBR-I produced just enough power to light four 100-watt light bulbs. Within days, the reactor was powering the entire complex.

Koch returned to Illinois in 1952, where he rose to director of the reactor engineering division and project manager for EBR. He wrote the book EBR-ll, published by the American Nuclear Society, which describes that activity.

He was awarded the Global Energy International Prize in June 2004 by Russian president Vladimir Putin in recognition for his role in development of Argonne's Experimental Breeder Reactors I and II.

Koch was one of the first-year members of the American Nuclear Society when he joined in 1955 and was honored as a Fellow in 1960. He also received the Walter H. Zinn Award from the ANS Power Division in 2007, and the W. Bennett Lewis Award in 2012.

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