Enrico Fermi (1901-1954) was an Italian-American physicist who played a key role in the development of the first nuclear reactor, known as Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1). In 1942, Fermi and his team successfully created the world’s first sustained nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago. The reactor was built using uranium and graphite, and Fermi's work showed that it was possible to control nuclear energy, which was a crucial step in the development of both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. The achievement was a major milestone in the Manhattan Project, which later led to the creation of the atomic bomb. Chicago Pile-1 was built in a makeshift lab under the stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. It consisted of uranium fuel surrounded by graphite blocks, which acted as moderators to slow down neutrons and sustain the nuclear chain reaction. On December 2, 1942, Fermi and his team achieved a controlled, self-sustaining nuclear reaction for the first time in history, which was a incredible scientific breakthrough. This event marked the beginning of the nuclear age, and it showed that it was possible to use nuclear reactions to release energy in a controlled manner. This is a piece of graphite from the original Chicago Pile-1 reactor, and it symbolizes this crucial moment in the history of science and technology.