Wabash sought the idea of nuclear power, but rather than the usage as weapons it wanted to provide power. President George Matthews pushed for the creation of the Department for Nuclear Exploration in 1931 and began recruiting some of Wabash's most prominent physicists. With association with the University of Chicago created the first artificial nuclear reactor; the Chicago Pile-1. On December 2nd, 1942 2 the first ever nuclear reaction occurred, leading the Sierrans and Americans to proceed with the Manhattan Project.