In January 1966, Dr. Ringle was the first nuclear engineering professor hired by OSU. He was responsible for supervising the construction and startup of the TRIGA reactor and managed the reactor operations for the next 14 years. With Alan Robinson and Art Johnson, he planned and initiated the academic programs in nuclear engineering at OSU and taught many of the new NE courses. In 1980, Dr. Ringle was named the Associate Dean of the Graduate School and continued in that capacity for the next 18 years, in addition to continuing teaching NE courses. His academic interest was in nuclear waste management. Dr. Ringle retired in 1998 as an emeritus professor of nuclear engineering.