@article{03865d67c64743208ff9d78e001e26ba,
title = "Making Belgian Big Science: A History of the MYRRHA Research Reactor (1994–2010)",
abstract = "This article explores the history of the MYRRHA research reactor currently under construction at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN). The article demonstrates that the construction of large instruments has obtained an essential role in the moral economy of modern nuclear laboratories. First, an analysis on the internal discussion within the research center reveals how MYRRHA{\textquoteright}s transformation from a commercially oriented project into a transmutation machine was primarily characterized by the wish to upscale the project. Second, a focus on the European research landscape demonstrates how European collaboration led to further upscaling of the project, having to address technological requirements to fit into the European roadmaps. Third, an emphasis on the interaction between MYRRHA and the Belgian political and public sphere shows how MYRRHA was constructed in a narrative that made the project seem essential to the future of the nuclear research center. Based on archival material and background interviews with key players, this article contributes to our understanding of the development of Big Science in the post–Cold War era in western Europe.",
keywords = "MYRRHA, Nuclear, EURATOM, Big science, SCK CEN, Science policy, Big Science, science policy, nuclear",
author = "Hein Brookhuis",
note = "Score=10 Funding Information: For their feedback on earlier versions of this article, I would like to thank Geert Vanpaemel, Robbe Geysmans, and Gaston Meskens. I also thank the interviewees for their willingness to share their experiences with me. I am also grateful to my colleagues of the research groups Cultural History Since 1750 (KU Leuven) and Nuclear Science and Technology Studies (SCK CEN) for providing the opportunity to present the first outlines of this article. Many thanks also to Cyrus Mody, Jacob Hamblin, Machiel Kleemans, and an anonymous reviewer of HSNS for their thoughtful and constructive comments on the manuscript. In addition, I would like to thank Sjang ten Hagen for his input on an early version. Furthermore, I would like to thank Anna Sofia Churchill for her guidance on the language. The research for this article was funded by the SCK CEN Academy as part of my PhD project titled New Big Science in Belgium: The Evolution of SCK CEN (1980-2020). Funding Information: On a methodological level, readers will notice that this article has benefitted greatly from access to the archives of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre. The research is funded by the same institute and executed as a PhD project that is embedded at both SCK CEN and KU Leuven. Although this is not a completely unique situation, it does lead to some methodological reflections. First and foremost, the views presented in this article are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of SCK CEN or the interviewees. Second, the archival material was unique and forms the main foundation of this article, but this also comes at a cost. The documents primarily reflect the position and views of the Belgian scientists, while obtaining documents of European partners was not feasible for such a recent case study. Views of European partners are therefore based primarily on material preserved at SCK CEN{\textquoteright}s archives, or sometimes distilled from international reports. The same goes for political perspectives, which could not be analyzed through archival research. One hopes that future research can build upon the work presented in this article. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 by The Regents of the University of California.",
year = "2023",
month = feb,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1525/hsns.2023.53.1.35",
language = "English",
volume = "53",
pages = "35--70",
journal = "Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences - HSNS",
issn = "1939-1811",
publisher = "University of California Press",
number = "1",
}