In March of the year he received his Ph.D. , the nuclear reactor at nearby Three Mile Island nearly experienced a meltdown . Within a budget of $ 1.5 million , Whittaker and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon built robots to inspect and perform repairs in the reactor 's damaged basement , and their experiences with that project resulted in the creation of the Field Robotics Center at Carnegie Mellon University . Whittaker 's later teams would also develop robots to help with the aftermath of the nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl in 1986 . In 1987 , Whittaker co-founded RedZone Robotics to develop and sell ( or lease ) robots that could operate in hazardous environments and situations too dangerous for humans
meltdown
Three Mile Island accident
Red Whittaker