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OCR for page 79
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
STATUS OF U.S. NUCLEAR ENGINEERING EDUCATION
The development of nuclear power after World War II made nuclear engineering a
dynamic field until the late 1970s. Since then, several factors have deterred
the further expansion of commercial nuclear power in the United States: the
last order to construct a new nuclear power plant was placed in 1978. This
trend has led to a decline in nuclear engineering enrollments and in the
proportion of research funds available to
faculty for research related to
commercial power reactors. Nuclear engineering research now covers broader
applications of nuclear forces and processes, and is reflected in graduate
Undergraduate programs continue to be relatively broad based,
programs.
providing undergraduates with a good education on power reactors. The decline
in enrollments over the past decade has resulted in a decline in the hiring of
new faculty and an increase in the average age of faculty. In addition, at
the graduate level, there is an increasing proportion of foreign students.
In summary:
1. While the committee has found no evidence of changes in the quality
of U.S. nuclear engineering academic programs, there has been a decline in the
number of schools offering such curricula, in the number of students--
especially of U.S. students--studying nuclear engineering, in the rate of
addition of young faculty, in the average age of the faculty, and in the
number of research reactors for education. Emphasis of research funding has
also shifted away from areas related to power reactors, and maintaining
laboratories and equipment in support of nuclear engineering education has
become more difficult.
79
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2. Undergraduate nuclear engineering curricula are generally accredited
by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and contain
much the same content across institutions. These curricula provide a broad
background in basic sciences and engineering, and have a nuclear engineering
course content that is heavily oriented toward power reactor applications.
The basic undergraduate curricula are well suited to serve the needs of the
industry in which most graduates find employment.
3. The graduate curriculum is far more diverse and varied from
university to university, reflecting the many areas in which those with
advanced degrees find employment. Graduate research programs have changed
significantly over the past decade. There has been a dramatic decline in
research related to power reactors, which now represents less than 15 percent
of research funding in the field. Research in other nuclear engineering areas
continues to increase: in medical diagnosis and treatment, space exploration,
new energy generation and storage technologies, and radioactive waste
disposal.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Currently, supply and demand for nuclear engineers is in balance. There are
pressures to place more degreed engineers in power reactor control rooms, in
technical advisory roles, and in management positions. The committee projects
that demand will increase over the next 5 years because of the needs of the
Department of Energy (DOE), and over the next 20 years depending on the rate
of design and construction of new nuclear power plants. The supply of nuclear
engineers is projected to fall below demand if current student population
trends continue. Although it is difficult to make projections about the
resurgence of nuclear power, the committee feels that it has made conservative
assumptions in its "best-estimate" demand projection and that demand in 10 to
20 years could exceed the committee's projections. Even if these demand
projections for the resurgence of nuclear power are not completely realized,
there are still the near-term needs and other important reasons for
maintaining strong nuclear engineering academic programs. For example, the
employment market for Ph.D. graduates in nuclear engineering is diverse and
the power reactor industry plays a much smaller role in this market than it
does in the markets for B.S. and M.S. graduates. Nuclear engineers with
Ph.D.s are employed by the national laboratories, in fusion activities, in
Strategic Defense Initiative studies, and universities.
In summary:
4. At present the supply and demand for undergraduate nuclear engineers
is in balance. Yet, even if there are no new reactor orders, the demand for
undergraduate nuclear engineers is now increasing and will likely increase
further. The committee's best estimate projects 50- and 25-percent increases
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81
in demand by 1995 and 2000, respectively, and if there is a resurgence of
nuclear power in the United States, a doubling or trebling of current demand
after the year 2000. If trends in nuclear engineering education continue, a
rising demand for nuclear engineers will outstrip the supply within a few
years.
The committee notes the uncertainties in the future scope and needs in
the defense industry that may result from the recent changes in the
international situation. The result may be the availability of some engineers
for retraining to fill a portion of the needs in the nuclear field. However,
the committee had no way at this time to assess the numbers of such engineers
nor the time scale of their availability and retraining.
EDUCATION FOR FUTURE NEEDS
Considering the continuing need for safe, efficient operation of power
reactors already built, the probability that additional reactors will be built
in the future, the needs of the U.S. Department of Energy, and the increasing
number of areas in which nuclear engineering is applied, the nation has a
great interest in ensuring the continuity of nuclear engineering programs and
their highly skilled faculties and adequate research and fellowship funding.
In summary:
5. Nuclear engineering programs must remain separate areas within
engineering colleges to ensure the integrity and vitality of their unique
educational goals.
6. Those that hire undergraduate nuclear engineers say these engineers
need better oral and written communications skills, better knowledge of the
nuclear reactor as an integrated system, and more education of the biological
effects of radiation.
7. Current programs could be modestly expanded without increasing the
faculty.
8. Greater funding for research related to nuclear power reactors is
needed to reverse the decline of over more than a decade.
9. U.S. research reactors should be accessible to all nuclear
engineering departments.
10. Industry has strengthened nuclear engineering programs, keeping
them relevant to employers' needs, through (1) scholarship and fellowship
programs; (2) campus activities such as industry-oriented seminars and
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American Nuclear Society programs, and (3) faculty and student participation
in on-site industrial programs.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To strengthen U.S. nuclear engineering education and reverse the decline of
the last decade, the committee has identified a number of needed actions,
which are stated as recommendations below. The responsibility for nuclear
engineering education is shared by the federal government, private industry,
and the academic community, and the recommendations below are directed to
decision makers in each of these sectors. Because an expected near-term
shortage (in the next 5 to 10 years) of nuclear engineers would largely owe to
expanded government programs, DOE has added responsibility for near-term
solutions.
Responsibilities of the Federal Government
The federal government, and especially DOE can directly influence the number
of students and the direction of research through increased funding, helping
to ensure an adequate student pool and access to research reactors for
educational purposes. Adequate data bases will also be important to assess
current and future issues. This study was slowed by the inadequacy,
incompleteness, and incompatibility of existing data bases on the employment
of nuclear engineers. The DOE data base maintained by Oak Ridge Associated
Universities, which is an ongoing compilation of responses to its Survey of
Occupational Employment in Nuclear-Related Activities, is not a new system,
and efforts to upgrade it have been limited by resources. This data base does
not cover military personnel or employees of educational or medical
institutions, construction firms, or federal agencies other than DOE and the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission. As a result, the committee had to solicit
information through its own survey to complement these data bases.
The committee arrived at the following recommendations:
o Funding for traineeship and fellowship programs should be increased.
o Additional research funds should be made available to support work on
nuclear power reactors, especially for innovative approaches. Increasing the
existing DOE research program from $4 million to $11 million per year is
recommended.
o Programs to attract women and minorities into nuclear engineering
should be enhanced, a need sharpened by demographic trends.
o DOE should consider providing funds for nuclear engineering
participation in minority-oriented science and technology initiatives, notably
those being established by the National Science Foundation.
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o DOE should assess supporting the access, for educational purposes,
of all nuclear engineering departments to the research reactors in the United
States.
o DOE should ensure that its personnel data base in nuclear engineering
promptly and accurately reflects supply and demand. Several actions should
help accomplish this:
- The definitions of the discipline and job skill requirements
should be revised and clarified to better match those used by the
sectors being surveyed.
- Survey methods should be revised to ensure that no temporary
assignments or offices are excluded and that all sectors of
nuclear-related employment and all appropriate employees more
generally are included.
- Survey questions and format should be reviewed both by
professional questionnaire experts and by sector practitioners, to
ensure thoroughness, consistency and clarity.
The present exclusion from DOE personnel data of those in the
fields of fusion, education and academia, and the health-care
industry, and of uniformed military personnel should be
reexamined.
Responsibilities of Industry
While near-term needs will owe largely to government programs, any increased
longer term need for nuclear engineers is likely to result from a resurgence
of nuclear power. For this reason, electric utilities and the supporting
industry can help to ensure the needed supply of properly trained people
through appropriate actions.
The committee recommends the following:
o Electric utilities and the supporting industry should increase their
participation and support of U.S. nuclear engineering education. Such support
should cover cooperative student programs, research sponsorship, scholarships
and fellowships, seminar sponsorship, and establishing and supporting academic
chairs.
o Industry should continue working with the American Nuclear Society,
and other professional engineering societies, such as the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers,
in support of its strong advocacy for nuclear engineering education.
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Responsibilities of Universities
The nuclear engineering undergraduate curriculum is appropriately broad in
both laboratory and classroom instruction, and provides good training and
education for employment in the nuclear power industry. The broadening of
research in graduate nuclear engineering programs is a positive trend and
should be encouraged. The imminent retirement of a significant fraction of
the faculty jeopardizes both undergraduate and graduate programs.
Therefore, the committee recommends the following:
o Nuclear engineering curricula should continue to be broad based. At
the undergraduate level, however, programs should increase emphasis on
systems-oriented reactor engineering, study of the biological effects of
radiation, and oral and written communication skills. At both undergraduate
and graduate levels, more emphasis should be given to nuclear waste management
and environmental remediation and restoration.
o Research programs should include more research in reactor-oriented
areas.
o Nuclear engineering faculty should actively develop and seek support
for research related to power reactors, to nuclear waste management, and
environmental remediation.
o University administrators should develop innovative procedures, such
as partial or phased retirement of older faculty to retain access to their
special capabilities and skills, to allow the addition of junior faculty in a
timely fashion.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
nuclear engineers
