Education


University profile: Pennsylvania State University

April 21, 2022, 4:24PMNuclear News
Students in the Nuclear Innovation Commons, designed to promote collaboration and innovation. (Photo: Penn State College of Engineering)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on Pennsylvania State University's nuclear program, based in University Park, Pennsylvania.

University profile: Purdue University

April 21, 2022, 4:23PMNuclear News
Purdue University Reactor Number One (PUR-1) is the first and only nuclear reactor operating in Indiana and the first and only facility to be licensed for a fully digital safety and control system. (Photo: Purdue)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana.

University profile: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

April 21, 2022, 4:21PMNuclear News
Nuclear engineering graduate students along the LINAC neutron beam line. (Photos: RPI)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, New York.

University profile: University of Massachusetts Lowell

April 21, 2022, 4:19PMNuclear News
Graduate students and young professionals from 25 countries have participated in the Intercontinental Nuclear Institute, a four-week summer fellowship training program cohosted by UML and the Czech Technical University in Prague, with support from the IAEA. (Photo: UML)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on University of Massachusetts Lowell, in Lowell, Massachusetts.

University profile: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

April 21, 2022, 4:18PMNuclear News
The HIDRA is currently used to study the way plasmas interact with the inside wall and materials of fusion devices. (Photo: Susan Mumm)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

University profile: University of Michigan

April 21, 2022, 4:17PMNuclear News
The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project building facade. (Photo: University of Michigan

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on University of Michigan.

University profile: University of New Mexico

April 21, 2022, 4:16PMNuclear News
Graduate student Phoenix Baldez hosts high school students in a nuclear engineering lab as part of Engineering for Us All (E4USA), a National Science Foundation–funded pilot program to bring engineering courses to high schools. (Photo: UNM)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on University of New Mexico.

University profile: University of South Carolina

April 21, 2022, 4:15PMNuclear News
A grad student prepares advanced nuclear fuel specimens for testing, including uranium silicide as an accident tolerant fuel for LWR and mixed uranium/refractory carbide fuels for nuclear thermal propulsion applications. (Photo: UofSC)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on the University of South Carolina.

University profile: University of Tennessee Knoxville

April 21, 2022, 4:14PMNuclear News
The new Zeanah Engineering Complex on UT–Knoxville's campus. (Photo: UT–Knoxville)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on the University of Tennessee–Knoxville.

University profile: University of Texas at Austin

April 21, 2022, 4:12PMNuclear News
UT–Austin faculty, staff, and students presented papers at the Methods and Applications of Radioanalytical Chemistry (MARC) Conference in Kona, Hawaii, in 2018. (Photo: UT–Austin)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on the University of Texas at Austin.

University profile: University of Utah

April 21, 2022, 4:11PMNuclear News
The University of Utah is nestled along the Wasatch Mountain range in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on the University of Utah.

University profile: University of Wisconsin–Madison

April 21, 2022, 4:10PMNuclear News
A view into the UW–Madison nuclear reactor, which began operating in 1961. (Photo: UW–Madison)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

University profile: Virginia Commonwealth University

April 21, 2022, 4:10PMNuclear News
A graduate student prepares a depleted uranium salt ingot for a corrosion study sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. (Photo: Dan Wagner, VCU Engineering)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on Virginia Commonwealth University.

University profile: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

April 21, 2022, 4:09PMNuclear News
A student prepares electrochemical tests for development of an electrochemical sensor for a flowing molten salt system in a glovebox. (Photo: Virginia Tech)

Nuclear News reached out to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) to ask for assistance in connecting with nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities. Our request to universities was to provide us with updates on their programs and to detail their areas of special interest.

NEDHO came through big time. As a result, 20 nuclear engineering programs answered the call. In this series of articles, we will take a close look at university programs around the United States. This time, the focus is on Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

ANS to host virtual event, “A Reactor Physicist’s Explanation of Chernobyl”

April 21, 2022, 7:00AMANS News

The ANS Reactor Physics Division is hosting a webinar titled “A Reactor Physicist’s Explanation of Chernobyl” from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, April 26, the 36th anniversary of the accident at the No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

Register Now. The webinar is exclusively for ANS members.

Universities—Providing more than just education

April 18, 2022, 3:00PMNuclear NewsSteven P. Nesbit

Steven P. Nesbit
president@ans.org

The April issue of Nuclear News focuses on university programs and the key roles they play in the nuclear technology field. The topic led me to do some reminiscing.

Like many Nuclear News readers, I studied nuclear engineering in college, departing the University of Virginia in 1982 with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field. Most of us have fond memories of our college years, for reasons that may or may not relate to academic pursuits. I left the school with many such memories, but also with respect for the knowledge and accomplishments of my professors and an appreciation of the research they conducted. Also, UVA had two reactors, including a 2-megawatt pool reactor that was in use around the clock, five days a week. I had the opportunity to obtain a reactor operating license and work shifts as an operator, which was quite rewarding monetarily and provided practical, hands-on experience with nuclear technology.

Oregon State and NuScale: From university to start-up

April 15, 2022, 3:06PMNuclear NewsBrian Woods
Rendition of a VOYGR plant layout. (Image: NuScale)

Universities are places where professionals, experts, and students come together to teach and learn, to conduct and disseminate research, and to dream and explore. Universities have a long history of technological innovation and development. It should therefore come as no surprise that institutes of higher education have been an integral part of the recent explosion of innovation within the advanced nuclear reactor community. Universities have not only powered workforce and technology development, but in a number of cases, they have served as the actual birthplaces of today’s advanced reactor designs.

The public face of nuclear

April 15, 2022, 9:30AMANS NewsCraig Piercy

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

This month’s issue of Nuclear News highlights the contributions of university-based programs in advancing nuclear science and technology and preparing the next-generation nuclear workforce.

In addition to the scholarly work they do, our university programs increasingly serve as an important public-facing component of the U.S. nuclear enterprise.

When you think about it, a lot of what goes on with nuclear happens within a security perimeter—“behind the fence,” if you will. Obviously, this is by necessity, as the technology involved is inherently sensitive. However, because the “magic” of nuclear remains out of view, something will always get lost in translation to the public. Yes, tours of commercial nuclear plants are still available to the interested and enterprising, but there is nothing quite like staring down into the core of a university TRIGA reactor and seeing the Cherenkov glow to stoke a person’s imagination.