April 6, 1953 letter from Chancellor J. W. Harrelson to William B. Allred



April 6, 1953 Mr. William B. Allred, Chief
Reactor Branch
Research and Medicine Division
United States Atomic Energy Commission
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Dear Mr. Allred:

After many delays in the construction of our Nuclear Reactor
Building, it now appears that completion is near and that we can begin
at once the assembly of components of the Nuclear Reactor itself. At
the present time, we estimate an assembly schedule such that the nuclear
fuel will be needed some time in the period between May 15 and June 15.

Request is hereby made, therefore, that 999 grams of U235, as
uranyl sulfate in which the U235 isotopic content is 90% or more, be
delivered to N. C. State College in the period indicated. The exact
date of delivery may be chosen in accordance with information from Dr.
Clifford Beck
, Director of the Raleigh Research Reactor Project, on the
completion of preparation to receive the fuel.

It is further requested that this Uranium fuel be shipped as a con-
centrated ( 700 g/l) solution of uranyl sulfate, together with precise
information (1) on the isotopic and chemical analysis of the material...
including impurities, (2) on the quantities of U, of U235, U238 and U234,
and of other elements present, and (3) on such other physical and chemical
characteristics of the material as are available (e.g. density, pH, etc.).

The assistance and sympathetic encouragement of the Atomic Energy
Commission
to our nuclear project at N. C. State College from its con-
ception to its present stage of development is gratefully acknowledged
at the same time as our thanks for your cooperation on the specific re-
quest above are extended.

Sincerely yours,
J. W. Harrelson
J. W. Harrelson, Chancellor
Approved:
Gordon Gray
Gordon Gray President
University of North Carolina
CC: Dr. Clifford Beck
Dean J. H. Lampe