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Gilbert Zigler Papers, 1962-2014

By Anna Dvorak and Anne Bahde

Collection Overview

Title: Gilbert Zigler Papers, 1962-2014

Predominant Dates: 1970-2000

ID: MSS Zigler

Primary Creator: Zigler, G. (Gilbert) (1945-2014)

Extent: 5.2 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Gilbert Zigler Collection is arranged in three series: 1. Three Mile Island, 1970-2009; 2. Technical Publications, 1962-2013; and 3. Ephemera, 1965-2014.

Date Acquired: 00/00/2015

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Gilbert Zigler Papers document the career of Gilbert "Gil" Zigler, a nuclear engineer who specialized in reactor safety and monitoring. The collection is comprised of items collected during his education at the United States Air Force’s Institute of Technology and career as a reactor diagnostic engineer, spanning from 1962-2014.

The collection includes scientific publications, reference materials, notes, and memorabilia from his career, and highlights Zigler's professional expertise primarily through documents relating to his role in diagnosing and solving problems during the Three Mile Island reactor incident. Much of the collection addresses the field of reactor safety in its various applications and aspects.

The electronic records in Digital folder 1 are available upon request.

Scope and Content Notes

The Gilbert Zigler Papers consist of materials documenting the career of Gil Zigler as a reactor diagnostic engineer, and his role in the development in the field of noise and vibration monitoring systems in reactors. The collection includes materials from his personal life as well as professional career, while the majority of items are printed materials collected during his career.

These materials represent his work in the field of nuclear reactor safety, and reactor vibration and noise monitoring systems. The collection documents the depth of Zigler’s involvement in the development of these fields, and underscores his involvement in the professional organizations Symposium on Reactor Noise (SMORN) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The bulk of the items consist of articles and other published items by individuals, including Zigler, or organizations, such as Babcock & Wilcox or the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Of particular note are Zigler's notes on improvements to emergency preparedness and technical support for future nuclear power plant accidents. These improvements are included in Zigler’s collected “TMI-II Gems” under the title “Recommendations for Improved Readiness for Future Nuclear Incidents.” This collection further includes papers written by Zigler and others on the accident and its aftermath, data and notes collected as Zigler assessed the problem with the reactor unit, and correspondence concerning Zigler’s work on the TMI-II unit accident. The bulk of the collection is in Series 2. The electronic records in Digital folder 1 are available upon request.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Gilbert Lenk Zigler was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1945. He was the son of Brazilian swimmer and World Record Holder, Maria Lenk Zigler, and Daniel G. Zigler, who was originally from Bisbee, Arizona. When he was 18 he moved to the United States to pursue a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico. Upon graduation, he joined the United States Air Force and completed his master's in Nuclear Engineering through their Institute of Technology in 1969. After completing his master's, he continued with the USAF working on the safety analysis of the reactors housed in the Pioneer 10 and 11 deep space probes, which were launched in 1972 and 1973, respectively. Each probe contained four SNAP-19 radioisotopic thermoelectric generators (RTGs). These two space probes sought to achieve escape velocity in order to leave the solar system to encounter Jupiter and Saturn. Pioneer 10 and 11 laid the groundwork for the Voyager probes to study the outer solar system later that decade.

When Zigler left the USAF in 1973, he went to work for Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) as a reactor diagnostic engineer where he helped design and oversee the construction of seven different pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Two of these reactors were at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station. This began his career in the nuclear power industry, where he focused on the development of a noise and vibration monitoring system for reactors. When he left B&W in 1977, he continued his career working as a scientist at Science Applications Inc., located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and was eventually hired on with Science and Engineering Associates Inc., of Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1984.

A defining feature of his career was his involvement with the incident at the second unit at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station. On March 28, 1979, a cooling malfunction at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station triggered a partial core meltdown in the #2 reactor (TMI-II). The resulting emergency was later classified as the most significant accident in U. S. commercial power plant history, and registered as a "nuclear accident with wider consequences" on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station consisted of two Babcock & Wilcox designed pressurized water reactors. Due to his experience with Babcock & Wilcox reactors, Zigler was called in to assess the problems at the Three Mile Island TMI-II reactor just hours after the reactor started malfunctioning. Zigler’s expertise with B&W reactors led to him providing a diagnosis for the malfunctioning unit and he contributed to the successful shutdown of the TMI-II reactor unit. After leaving Pennsylvania and with the encouragement of the director of the Division of Systems Safety of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Roger Mattson, Zigler put his thoughts and experiences at the reactor into words in “Recommendations for Improved Readiness for Future Nuclear Incidents.” He also co-authored “TMI-2 On-Site Monitoring and Diagnostic Measurements Using Noise Analysis,” the summary report for the President’s Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island. The incident at TMI-II would continue to play a role in future publications and professional suggestions as he advocated for emergency response preparation.

Along with the reactors he helped develop with Babcock &Wilcox, Zigler also helped design the diagnostic systems in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. This reactor contributed to the development of fusion technology. He also participated in six underground nuclear weapons tests including Pre-Direct Course, Diamond Beech, Mission Ghost, Misty Rain, and Minor Scale. He provided technical support to Tokyo Electric Power following the Fukushima Daiichi accident. As the reactors he had worked on aged, Zigler continued to play a role in diagnosing strainer clogging issues and assessing aging reactors.

His participation in professional organizations is notable. Zigler was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for almost 40 years. He was a charter member of ASME’s Vibration Monitoring subcommittee and Loose Parts Monitoring Subgroup, and served on the operations and maintenance committee helping to develop new and revised codes for the ASME. Certificates of professional commemoration underscore the role he played in the ASME and Symposium on Reactor Noise (SMORN). As a member of the Steering Committee for the Risk-Based Inservice Testing Research Project, he was commended for his “diligent service and unselfish devotion.” He received accolades for his help in the development of “Operation & Maintenance: Part 12, Loose Part Monitoring in LWR Power Plants.” In 2013, he was made a Fellow of ASME to recognize the exceptional engineering achievements and contributions he made to the engineering profession.



Author: Zigler Family and Anna Dvorak

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 7 boxes, including 1 oversize box; 21 photographs; 5 sound recordings; 1 motion picture film; 28.4 Mbytes (2 files)

Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: This collection was donated to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center by Andrea Zigler in 2015.

Related Materials: A number of other collections have materials relating to nuclear reactor development and monitoring. The Eugene Starr Papers (MSS Starr), Series 3: Nuclear Power, contains materials generated as part of Starr's membership on the Atomic Energy Commission's Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Reactor Policies and Programs showing some of the earliest debates about reactor construction, building, and siting. The Starr Papers also contain one folder on the Three Mile Island incident. The History of Atomic Energy Book Collection also contains a number of publications on the Three Mile Island incident.  The History of Atomic Energy book collection contains a number of items related to reactor development, as well as Three Mile Island. The Theodore Rockwell Papers (MSS Rockwell) contain materials on the development of the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus. The Paul Persiani Papers (MSS Persiani) contain some material on different reactor types. The Leonard Maki Nuclear Power Collection (MSS Maki) deals with nuclear power primarily in SNAP (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power) systems. Radiation exposure is a primary theme of the Barton C. Hacker Papers (MSS HackerB) and parts of the Theodore Rockwell Papers. Documentation of reactor development and maintenance at Oregon State can be found in the Chih Wang Papers (MSS Wang), the John Ringle Papers (MSS Ringle), and the Radiation Center Records (RG 202).

Preferred Citation: Gilbert Zigler Papers (MSS Zigler), Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

Zigler, G. (Gilbert) (1945-2014)

People, Places, and Topics

Babcock & Wilcox Company
Boiling water reactors.
Emergency core cooling systems
History of Science
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Nuclear power plants--Accidents--Pennsylvania
Nuclear reactors--United States--Safety measures.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Pressurized water reactors
Radiation--Health aspects.
Radiation--Safety measures.
Science and Engineering Associates
Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant (Pa.)
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
United States. Air Force
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Vibration--Research

Forms of Material

Audiocassettes.
Born digital.
Compact discs.
Digital moving image formats.
Motion pictures (visual works)
Photographic prints.


Box and Folder Listing