Nuclear engineering

This is the application of the breakdown of atomic nuclei and/or other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics. It includes, but is not limited to, the interaction and maintenance of nuclear fission systems and components— specifically, nuclear reactors, nuclear power plants, and/or nuclear weapons. The field may also include the study of nuclear fusion, medical and other applications of (generally ionizing) radiation, nuclear safety, heat/thermodynamics transport, nuclear fuel and/or other related (e.g., waste disposal) technology, nuclear proliferation, and the effect of radioactive waste or radioactivity in the environment.

Training in the United States

The following is the typical coursework included in most U.S. nuclear engineering degree programs.

As with any engineering discipline, college preparation should include mathematics training through the beginnings of calculus, as well as introductory courses in physics and chemistry.

Undergraduate coursework

Undergraduate coursework should begin with a good foundation in construction and dynamics of particle motion, thermodynamics, introductory computer programming, college level physics and chemistry, and a rigorous training in mathematics through differential equations.

Midway through undergraduate training a nuclear engineer may choose a specialization within their field for further study. Upper level coursework in a nuclear engineering program can include but is not limited to fluid mechanics, reactor physics, quantum mechanics, thermal hydraulics, linear circuits, radiation effects, and neutron transport, reactor design, thermal hydraulics, and typically will involve a senior design project. Multi-energy neutron transport is taught at most universities offering degrees in nuclear engineering, but typically only at the graduate level.

Specialization in fission includes the study of nuclear reactors, fission systems, nuclear fuels, and nuclear power plants. Primary instruction deals with neutronics and thermal-hydraulics for nuclear generated electricity. A firm foundation in thermodynamics and fluid mechanics in addition to hydrodynamics is a must.

Specialization in nuclear fusion includes electrodynamics and plasmas. This area is very much research oriented and training often terminates with a graduate level degree. A major difference between this specialization from fission, is that there is virtually no practical engineering experience. This is due to the fact that there are operating fission power plants, but there has yet to be a steady state, controlled, and useful fusion reactor.

Specialization in nuclear medicine includes courses dealing with doses and absorption of radiation in bodily tissues. Those who gain competency in this area usually move into the medical field. Many nuclear engineers in this specialization go on to become board licensed medical physicists or go to medical school and become a radiation oncologist. Remaining in academia in a research capacity is also a common choice for graduates.

Naval Nuclear Power School

The US Navy runs a program called Naval Nuclear Power School to train both officers and enlisted sailors for nuclear plant operation. While some officers have undergraduate backgrounds in nuclear engineering, any officers who take the requisite math and science classes are also accepted, whereas most of the enlisted students hold no college degrees at all. Despite this, they are prepared, through a rigorous training program (lasting between 16 months for Machinist's Mates and eighteen months for Electronics Technicians and Electrician's Mates), to operate the nuclear and steam plants aboard the navy's submarines and aircraft carriers. This training carries a specific type of Department of Energy certification that applies only to Naval Nuclear Reactors, however, many sailors choose to work at civilian power plants after their six-year obligations are completed.

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  USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine
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  USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)), the ninth Nimitz-class supercarrier

Professional areas

Nuclear fission

Nuclear fission is the disintegration of a fissionable atom's nucleus into two or more different elements nuclei. An approximate number of ~2.4 neutrons are scattered around per fission. There are two types of nuclear fission. 1-Fast Fission 2-Thermal fission

Generally, thermal fission is used in commercial reactors, if we disregard the Fast Breeder Type of Nuclear Reactors.

The United States gets about 20% of its electricity from nuclear power. This is a massive industry and keeping the supply of nuclear engineers plentiful will ensure its stability. Nuclear engineers in this field generally work, directly or indirectly, in the nuclear power industry or for government labs. Current research in industry is directed at producing economical, proliferation resistant reactor designs with passive safety features. Although government labs research the same areas as industry, they also study a myriad of other issues such as: nuclear fuels and nuclear fuel cycles, advanced reactor designs, and nuclear weapon design and maintenance. A principal pipeline for trained personnel for US reactor facilities is the Navy Nuclear Power Program.

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  Nuclear Powerplant
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  B-61 thermonuclear weapon

Nuclear fusion and plasma physics

Research areas in nuclear fusion and plasma physics include high-temperature, radiation-resistant materials, and plasma dynamics. Internationally, research is currently directed at building a prototype tokamak called ITER. The research at ITER will primarily focus on instabilities and diverter design refinement. Researchers in the USA are also building an inertial confinement experiment called the National Ignition Facility or NIF. NIF will be used to refine neutron transport calculations for the US stockpile stewardship initiative.

• NIF (National Ignition Facility) target chamber
  NIF (National Ignition Facility) target chamber

Nuclear medicine and medical physics

An important field is nuclear medicine. From x-ray machines to MRI to PET, among many others, nuclear medicine provides most of modern medicine's diagnostic capability along with providing many treatment options.

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  X-Ray Image of a male skull
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  Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan of a head
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  PET taken with an ECAT Exact HR+ PET Scanner

Nuclear materials and nuclear Fuels

Nuclear materials research focuses on two main subject areas, nuclear fuels and irradiation-induced modification of materials. Improvement of nuclear fuels is crucial for obtaining increased efficiency from nuclear reactors. Irradiation effects studies have many purposes, from studying structural changes to reactor components to studying nano-modification of metals and semiconductors using ion-beams or particle accelerators.

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  Uranium ore, the principal raw material of nuclear fuel
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  Nuclear fuel pellets
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  A Focused ion beam

Radiation measurements and imaging

Nuclear engineers and radiological scientists are interested in the development of more advanced ionizing radiation measurement and detection systems, and using these to improve imaging technologies. This includes detector design, fabrication and analysis, measurements of fundamental atomic and nuclear parameters, and radiation imaging systems, among other things.

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  A modern Geiger counter
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  A neutron detector
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  Scintillation detector next to Uraninite

Nuclear engineering organizations

• American Nuclear Society
• International Atomic Energy Agency
• Institution of Nuclear Engineers (London)

List of institutions offering nuclear engineering courses

List of colleges in the U.S.

College	Department (external links)	Degrees offered
Air Force Institute of Technology	Engineering Physics	MS,PhD
Arkansas Tech University	Nuclear Engineering	MEng,BS
Colorado School of Mines	Nuclear Engineering	MS,PhD
Cornell University	School of Applied and Engineering Physics	BS,MEng,PhD
Kansas State University	Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
Georgia Institute of Technology	Nuclear and Radiological Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
Idaho State University	Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Nuclear Science and Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
Missouri University of Science and Technology	Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
North Carolina State University	Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
Ohio State University	Nuclear Engineering	MS,PhD
Oregon State University	Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics	BS,MS,PhD
Pennsylvania State University	Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
Pennsylvania State University	Distance Learning Program in Nuclear Engineering	M.Eng.
Purdue University	Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	Mechanical, Aerospace & Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
South Carolina State University	Nuclear Engineering	BS
Texas A&M University	Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
University of California, Berkeley	Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
University of Cincinnati	Mechanical, Industrial and Nuclear Engineering	MS,PhD
University of Florida	Nuclear and Radiological Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
University of Idaho	Nuclear Engineering	MS,PhD
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
University of Maryland, College Park	Materials and Nuclear Engineering	MS,PhD
University of Massachusetts Lowell	Chemical Engineering	BS
University of Michigan Ann Arbor	Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences	BS,MS,PhD
University of Missouri	Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute	MS,PhD
University of New Mexico	Chemical and Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PHD
University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Nuclear Engineering	MS
University of Tennessee at Knoxville	Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD
University of South Carolina	Nuclear Engineering	ME,MS,PhD
University of Texas at Austin	Nuclear and Radiation Engineering	MS,PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison	Engineering Physics	BS,MS,PhD
United States Naval Academy	Nuclear Engineering	BS
United States Military Academy	Nuclear Engineering	BS
Virginia Commonwealth University	Nuclear Engineering	MS

List of universities in Canada

University	Department (external links)	Degrees offered
McMaster University, Hamilton	Engineering Physics (Nuclear Engineering Option)	B.Eng. Phys., Dipl. Nuc.Tech, M.Eng, M.A.Sc, Ph.D.
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa	Nuclear Engineering	B.Eng, M.Eng, M.A.Sc, Ph. D
École Polytechnique de Montréal, Montréal	Institute of Nuclear Engineering	M.Eng, M.Sc, PhD
Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston	Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering	M.Sc, M.A.Sc, M.Eng, PhD

List of universities in the United Kingdom

College	Department (external links)	Degrees offered
Lancaster University	Nuclear Engineering	M.Eng
University of Birmingham	Physics and Technology of Nuclear Reactors	MSc
Nuclear Technology Education Consortium	Nuclear Science and Technology	MSc

List of colleges in India

College	Department (external links)	Degrees offered
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur	Nuclear Engineering and Technology	M.Tech, PhD

srm university.chennai b.tech nuclear eng

List of colleges in Turkey

College	Department (external links)	Degrees offered
Hacettepe University	Department of Nuclear Engineering	BS,MS,PhD

List of colleges in Pakistan

College/University	Department (external links)	Degrees offered
Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Islamabad	Department of Nuclear Engineering	MS,PhD
Kannup Institute of Nuclear Power Engineering/NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi	Department of Nuclear Engineering	MS,PhD

List of universities in Israel

College	Department (external links)	Degrees offered
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev	Nuclear Engineering	MS, PhD

List of universities in Bulgaria

College	Department (external links)	Degrees offered
Technical University of Sofia	Department of Thermal and Nuclear Power Engineering	BS, MS, PhD

See also

• Atomic physics
• Earthquake engineering
• Nuclear fuel
• Nuclear material
• Nuclear physics
• Nuclear power
• Nuclear reactor
• Thermal hydraulics
• Nuclear Criticality Safety
• Safety engineering

External links

• Wikibooks

• Science and Technology of Nuclear Installation Open-Access Journal
• Nuclear Engineering International magazine
• Nuclear Science and Engineering technical journal
• Electric Generation from Commercial Nuclear Power
• Hacettepe University Department of Nuclear Engineering