PUR-1, The Nuclear Reactor Under Your Feet

Purdue University is unique undeniably unique with its possession of the only operation nuclear reactor in the state of Indiana. To truly complete the Purdue experience, all students should take advantage of the once in a life time opportunity to witness the inside of a nuclear reactor. “PUR-1” as it is called by the government is a small 5 MW reactor located in the basement of the Electrical Engineering building (which means its NOT underneath the engineering fountain!) on the engineering mall. The reactor, although very small in terms of power production, puts off a powerful blue glow when it first starts, then drones to a soft pulsing glow as billions of neutrons bounce off the many complex components inside the reactor core.  Sadly (or maybe not), the reactor is currently turned off and isn’t expected to operate again until they receive their next license to run the machine at 15MW.

                                         Image Property of Purdue.edu

The United States government keeps a close eye on all of its reactors, and they treat ours with the same level of caution as any other. Because of this, it is quite an event for someone to be allowed down to see it. For a student to access this reactor, they would need to first contact the Nuclear Engineering department and request a tour, as it is probably in our best interest that the public isn’t allowed to wander their way into such a serious piece of equipment. The department takes visits to the reactor very seriously, and requires everyone who enters to provide their student ID or professional identification before being allowed into the reactors room. The reasoning for this tight “security” is that the government watches all nuclear reactors closely, and Purdue must report every single individual that has been in the reactor, each and every day.

Entering the room feels like a blast from the past as you walk through, over, and around machines and piping that look like hand-me-downs from the early Apollo missions. But fear not Purdue Students, the reason they are still there is because they still work! They try not to replace equipment that isn’t broken, and most of the machines are still going strong since its building in 1962. Despite all the dust, take a second to go in and enjoy a piece of history and to think about the wonderful opportunities that Purdue students have.

The Jedi Counci Room

Probably one of the quirkiest things that the University administration has done is with the 7th floor of Beering. Not only does the 7th floor take a life of its own and appears radically different from the prior 6 floors, it also exists in its own zip code. Yes, a different zip code. Technically is not a part of the Purdue campus because of this, which I’ll explain in a little bit. The most notable feature about the floor itself exists over the southeast corner on the 7th floor: a domed room. This room is a break from the sharp corners and big boxes that create the beering building, and has become quite Iconic with students for being comparable to the Jedi Council Room from the Star Wars movies. This room can be reserved from the main desk, but where is the fun in that? I’m going to tell you about how to get there after the building closes (because you’re a rebel)!

First I can answer the question about the zip code issue. John Purdue had wished that University be the tallest building on campus, and to stick to his wishes the university decided that when they constructed buildings that were taller than the university building, they would just put those upper floors  in a different zip code because that means they didn’t break their promise (Right?!). What is exciting about this is that you could probably mail something from the first floor to the seventh, so nothing. There is nothing exciting about this at all. It is exciting though to break into the 7th floor Jedi Council room!

Beering closes at midnight, but a lot of the upper floors are inaccessible and offices closed by 5pm. To get through these offices, you would either have to be up there from 5 pm to get past the offices, or you would have to arrive exactly when it was closing time and the cleaning crews began their work. All you need to do is arrive while they are cleaning, maybe sneak around a little bit, and get to the room right after they finish cleaning. This part is really hit and miss, as sometimes the cleaning crew will lock the door immediately, but often they will forget to and you can just head on in.

 Photo provided by PurdueExponent.org

And there you have it! You’re now in the Jedi Council room at night. The room has a fairly nice view of the fountain and a little bit over the skyline, but really the best part is the peace and quiet that is lightly disturbed by the sound of vacuum cleaners and the bell tower singing the night away.