313 The Past, Present, and Future of K-25
History | Registration opens 8/5/25 9:00 AM EDT
The K-25 gaseous diffusion plant in Oak Ridge played a vital role in our nation’s history from the beginnings in the Manhattan Project through the Cold War. That plant and associated facilities processed uranium and helped usher our nation and the world into the atomic age. Today that site, called The Heritage Center, is the location of the K-25 Atomic History Center, the K-25 Wilcox Interpretative Center, and an impressive and growing collection of businesses, many tied to the nuclear renaissance. The first day of this course will first look at that critical history, from the beginnings of the plant up through the successful remediation of the site, the largest effort in the United States. Part of this history discussion will focus on and utilize resources and programs offered by the AMSE Foundation through the History Center and the Interpretive Center. The second day of the course will examine the companies that have located at the Heritage Center, companies like Kairos Power and LIS Technologies. The class will be held in the new K-25 Wilcox Interpretive Center and will include a tour of that center as well as the K-25 Atomic History Center and, if completed, the new Portal #4 visitor facility that is on the site as well.
- Fee of $5.00 is due September 8, cash or check only. Payment is made to ORICL not K-25. The class will be held at the K-25 Wilcox Interpretive Center, 652 Enrichment Street, Oak Ridge.
Alan Lowe
Alan Lowe obtained his BA and MA in history from the University of Kentucky. He began his career at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as an archivist. He has worked for the Office of Presidential Libraries at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. He served as the executive director of the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee from 2003 to 2009. From 2009-16, Lowe served as founding director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. In 2016, Lowe was appointed as executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and
Museum, a position he held until 2019 when he returned to Tennessee and became the director of the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.