NC State, SRNS partner to attract young talent

The partnership has led to the creation of SRNS’s N&CSE University Pipeline Program, a one-semester, three-hour elective course that launched in the fall 2024 semester and is offered both to undergraduate seniors and graduate students.

Promotion: SRNS N&CSE personnel recently visited the NC State campus, in Raleigh, to promote the pipeline course. SRS’s missions were discussed in hopes of attracting students to the course. The event drew 18 undergraduates and graduate students in nuclear engineering, industrial engineering, physics, and aerospace engineering.

“Roles such as criticality safety engineers and nuclear accident analysts have traditionally been challenging to recruit and retain,” said Tracy Stover, SRNS’s Criticality Safety Program manager. “These are niche, high-demand experts, which are typically recruited from nuclear engineering or related programs.”

About the course: Curriculum is developed and taught by SRNS personnel to prepare students to support N&CSE at SRS. The material is supplemented by technical lectures, examinations, and a group project intended to challenge the students’ knowledge.

According to SRNS, NC State was selected from nine regional universities for the pilot program because of its nuclear engineering programs, its operation of a research reactor, and its partnership with South Carolina State University that allows SC State students to attend senior-level reactor courses at NC State. Those students are also eligible to enroll in the Pipeline Program.

Next up: The results of the NC State pilot program will determine if course expansion will be explored for SC State and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The fall 2025 semester has so far attracted six undergraduate students and two graduate students to register.

About: SRNS, a Fluor and HII partnership company, is responsible for the management and operations of SRS.