Hank Kosmata’s Interview
Hank Kosmata arrived in Hanford in January 1954 after graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in chemical engineering. After helping with the construction of K Reactor, Kosmata worked with “Reactor Design Analysis,” a team of physicists, mathematicians, and mechanical engineers that were tasked with designing a new, re-circulating reactor. After a year of planning, Kosmata and his team finalized the basis of what would become the “New Production Reactor,” or N Reactor. Kosmata discusses some of the similarities and differences of the design of N Reactor with that of B Reactor. He also explains that the development of N Reactor could not have been possible without the information and experience of those who worked on the B Reactor during the Manhattan Project. He talks about the role of nuclear power in the world today.