On this day in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Atomic Energy Act, marking a pivotal moment for peaceful nuclear power. As Eisenhower said, "The United States knows that peaceful power from atomic energy is no dream of the future. That capability, already proved, is here–now–today. Who can doubt, if the entire body of the world’s scientists and engineers had adequate amounts of fissionable material with which to test and develop their ideas, that this capability would rapidly be transformed into universal, efficient, and economic usage?" With this legislation, Eisenhower sought to realize the promise of nuclear technology by shifting it from sole government control to include the private sector. Whereas the previous 1946 Act focused on secrecy and weapons, this new law promoted "atoms for peace." Eisenhower recognized that with adequate resources, nuclear technology could rapidly become "universal, efficient, and economic" and transform the world for good. His hopeful...