Development of a Nuclear Certificate for Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Security, and Nuclear Environmental Protection within a Mechanical Engineering Department

摘要

Teaching and research initiatives in nuclear education have dramatically veered away from nuclear power operations over the past three decades. With the advent of a real change in delivering economically competitive electricity base loads in the nuclear industry, global warming, and a transformation in public perception, including politicians, on the requirement for greenhouse gas free electricity production, there is a clear need to have academic programs to support the US NRC and the nuclear power industry. A nuclear technical option at The University of Texas at Austin has been in existence for fifty years. The earliest known course was Nuclear Reactor Operation and Maintenance and was first offered in 1957. Nuclear Engineering became an option in Engineering Science in 1960 and in Mechanical Engineering in 1970, where it is currently administered. In August 1963, the TRIGA nuclear reactor went critical at 10kW using fuel loaned from the U.S. Government. In 1968, the power was upgraded to 250 kW and then upgraded again in 1992 to 1,100 kW at a different site; the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory (NETL). Throughout its long history, the nuclear program has had a commitment to educating the brightest students in the United States and abroad. This dedication which continually grows stronger now as the program has expanded to encompass health physics, radiation engineering, research reactor beam port experiments, radioactive waste management and reactor and computational nuclear engineering, homeland security and nonproliferation. As a result of the ever broadening educational and research needs, ten years ago the nuclear program changed its name to Nuclear and Radiation Engineering to better reflect its new directions. In spring 2007, we were funded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to implement at new undergraduate technical option in the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program at The University of Texas at Austin The overall objective is to provide: (1) a Nuclear Certificate geared towards undergraduate students in engineering and individuals in the nuclear industry consisting of courses in nuclear safety, nuclear security, nuclear environmental protection, and reactor operations including 15 overall credits with 3 credits from a chosen graduate course where such an opportunity will serve as a bridge for undergraduate students to consider graduate education; (2) an opportunity for students to train on The University of Texas TRIGA reactor and achieve NRC Reactor Operator license; and (3) an avenue to encourage internships at the NRC and nuclear power plants. These outcomes will have the benefit of creating a pipeline of well qualified students to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (especially to serve NRC Region 5), and to the nuclear industry for employment including the seven newly planned nuclear reactors in the state of Texas.