The (then) Washington State College Reactor was the brainchild of Harold W. Dodgen, a former researcher on the Manhattan Project where he earned his PhD from 1943 to 1946.

He secured funding for the ambitious 'Reactor Project' from the National Science Foundation, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the College administration totaling $479,000 ($1.7 million in 2023 dollars).

After completing the extensive application and design process with the help of contractors from General Electric they broke ground in August 1957 and the first criticality was achieved on March 7, 1961 at a power level of 1W.

[3] Due to the extensive work, cost, and the number of research reactors undergoing the procedure, the WSUR was not converted until October 2008.

Inside the core box there is a bottom grid-plate into which 3 and 4-rod clusters of TRIGA fuel sit separated by boron-aluminum (Boral, boron carbide in aluminium matrix) control elements.

The fuel is cooled by the natural convection of light water which is circulated through a plate-type heat exchanger with a primary and secondary loop.

[5] A cooling tower is utilized to discharge heat from the secondary loop to the environment, ensuring that the system remains well within temperature limits while preventing environmental exposure of water which has contacted the reactor.

[6] Examples of past research projects that have used this unique and valuable analysis method include determining quantities of toxic metals, such as arsenic, zinc, and selenium in air filters, tree rings, and other environmental samples.

This beam facility is enclosed in a special high-radiation area room, and was built in conjunction with the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory for cancer research.