Education

Before the Fukushima Daiichi accident in March 2011, nuclear power from 54 reactors provided about 30 percent of Japan’s electricity. In the wake of the disaster, Japan shut down every one of its reactors.

Recently, the country has been restarting its nuclear power plants. Among its current fleet of 33 operable reactors, fewer than half have been restarted. Nuclear power is currently providing about 8.5 percent of Japan’s electricity (with natural gas and coal accounting for more than 60 percent).

The Japanese government’s present energy plan, announced last year, calls for nuclear power to meet 20 percent of the country’s electricity needs by 2040. While the government views nuclear as a crucial asset toward meeting its goal of net zero emissions by 2050, public support for nuclear energy also continues to increase. A 2012 Pew Research poll—conducted one year after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster—indicated that 70 percent of the public opposed nuclear power. However, a 2022 poll by Nikkei Business Publications suggests that now, more than 50 percent of the public supports nuclear power—if safety can be ensured.

Contributing their expertise to these restarts in recent years are young nuclear industry professionals who were trained a decade ago in a mentorship/training program involving U.S. institutions.

This “Super Engineer Project” was sponsored by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry and Hokkaido University from 2015 to 2017. METI sponsored the project to improve the Japanese nuclear safety culture by learning from the U.S. safety culture.

The Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) is set to become the first maritime academy in the United States to offer a major in nuclear engineering technology. The college characterized it as “an important step in addressing workforce needs and advancing clean energy solutions” in a LinkedIn post announcing the major.

Last September, in the Chicago suburb of Lemont, Ill., Argonne National Laboratory hosted its first AI STEM Education Summit. More than 180 educators from high schools, community colleges, and universities; STEM administrators; and experts in various disciplines convened at “One Ecosystem, Many Pathways–Building an AI-Ready STEM Workforce” to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping STEM-related industries, including the implications for the nuclear engineering classroom and workforce.

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors, is seeking engineers in the nuclear field to participate in a professional activities and knowledge study (PAKS) that will be used to inform and update the content of the Nuclear Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam.

Alaina Cummings has been selected by the American Nuclear Society and American Society of Mechanical Engineers to receive the 2026 ANS/ASME Barry Sloane Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship.

The nuclear industry has long recognized a shortage of both skilled craft labor and professional talent. As global demand for reliable energy continues to rise—across the United States and internationally—that need has not only increased but has become critical.” This is a truth that nuclear industry consultant Jeffery P. Hawkins understands, and it is why he developed a program called Interns to Industry. The former Fluor Corporation executive said that “there has been a deficit of qualified resources in the nuclear industry, and this is forecasted to be even more so in the future, so I am working with various universities to determine how to customize their curriculums to fit the forecasted needs of the industry.”

On March 3, the Department of Energy announced the release of $52.8 million in funds through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) and the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program, ending a wait for applicants seeking fiscal year 2025 funds.

NEUP supports U.S. colleges and universities with funding for nuclear technology development, early-career faculty research activities, undergraduate scholarships, and graduate fellowships.

Last year was marked by a general air of excitement across the nuclear sector. From conference halls to board rooms, momentum manifested in numerous new project announcements, robust federal support, and high-aiming ambitions.

This mood was captured by the 2025 ANS State of the Nuclear Workforce survey, which was conducted from October 1–14. In isolation, the results of this year’s survey are promising; but when compared with the 2024 survey, the story is even clearer, with optimism up almost across the board and renewed attention in the industry’s most critical sectors.

For the past several years, the University of North Carolina–Wilmington has hosted volunteer instructors from Wilmington-­based GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy who teach engineering courses and engage with students. This guest instructor program has grown under the guidance of Amy Craig Reamer, associate professor of practice and director of engineering in the UNCW College of Science and Engineering’s Department of Computer Science. Under her oversight, an informal but strong public-­private partnership has been established to the benefit of UNCW students and the wider Wilmington community.

The University of Michigan’s Fastest Path to Zero Initiative has launched Imaginary Energies, an interactive, generative visualization tool meant to encourage members of the public to imagine future designs for fission and fusion energy power plants. Including a waste management facility on site is as easy as checking a box, and the tool also allows users to add wind, solar, hydro, and other clean-energy facilities. The AI tool was inspired by a design workshop that the university held in 2023.

Igunma

American Nuclear Society member Thompson Odion Igunma is a doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering at the University of Florida (UF) conducting research in collaboration with the Computational Mechanics and Materials Group at Idaho National Laboratory. His work focuses on advanced modeling of the complex interplay between molten salt corrosion, irradiation, and changes in alloy microstructure.

“I see molten salt reactors as a pivotal part of the next generation of nuclear energy,” Igunma said. “Their unique combination of safety, efficiency, and fuel flexibility makes them ideally suited to complement renewables in a low-carbon energy mix.”

The next opportunity to take part in the American Nuclear Society’s Nuclear 101 Certificate Course isn’t until the 2026 ANS Annual Conference at the end of May in Denver, Colo.

In the meantime, now is the perfect time for those looking to expand their knowledge of the nuclear sector to enroll in the Nuclear Licensing & Regulation Certificate Course.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has announced more than $590,000 in funding awards to help three universities enhance their outreach in nuclear energy education. The awards, which are part of the DOE Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) University Reactor Sharing and Outreach Program, are primarily designed to provide students in K-12, vocational schools, and colleges with access to university research reactors in order to increase awareness of nuclear science, engineering, and technology and to foster early interest in nuclear energy-related careers.

Each year, the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) recognizes graduate and undergraduate students for their innovative nuclear energy research. The winners of the Innovations in Nuclear Energy Research and Development Student Competition (INSC) receive honoraria along with travel and conference opportunities, including the chance to present their publications at the annual American Nuclear Society Winter Conference & Expo.

Along with several other nations, Canada has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. Part of this plan is tripling nuclear generating capacity. As of 2025, the country has four operating nuclear generating stations with a total of 17 reactors, 16 of which are in the province of Ontario. The Independent Electricity System Operator has recommended that an additional 17,800 MWe of nuclear power be added to Ontario’s grid.

BWX Technologies and Purdue University have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on research focused on next-generation nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors and microreactors.

The American Nuclear Society's Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy recently sat down with Richard Morrison on an episode of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Free the Economy podcast.

Earlier this year, Nuclear Waste Services, the radioactive waste management subsidiary of the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, hosted a group of five teenagers for a week of exposure to real-world work environments at its facilities in Calderbridge, Cumbria. The students learned about career opportunities and leadership responsibilities at the company while they engaged with senior management and performed activities with several NWS teams, including employees in the environmental, waste characterization, cybersecurity, human resources, and geological disposal facility grants departments.

Energy company Ansaldo Energia recently hosted a ceremony at its headquarters in Genoa, Italy, marking the launch of the Master in Technologies for Nuclear Power Plants program, which it developed in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano. A call for graduates in engineering, physics, and chemistry issued in May attracted more than 300 applications, 26 of which were selected for the program.

Kim

Recently, Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization Chair Seungjin Kim talked with Nuclear News about NEDHO’s current condition, governmental funding for NEDHO and university research, the impact of artificial intelligence and other technologies in the classroom, the influence of advanced reactors in nuclear engineering education, and other issues.

Kim, who is an ANS Fellow, is the Captain James F. McCarthy Jr. and Cheryl E. McCarthy Head of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Ind. He began his 2025–2026 term as NEDHO chair earlier this year. He took over from the previous chair, Sukesh Aghara, professor and director of the Nuclear and Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts–Lowell.