Nuclear engineering is defined as the application of nuclear and radiation processes in technology. An important application is the generation of electricity using nuclear reactors. Another important application is in medicine, where radiation and radioisotopes are used to diagnose and treat illness. Nuclear engineering offers students an important opportunity to help meet the energy needs of our society and to contribute to the improvement of health through medical applications. Further, because the nuclear engineering curriculum is very rich in engineering physics, graduates are prepared to work in a number of technical activities outside the nuclear engineering field.

Nuclear energy, both from fission and fusion, offers a promising approach to meeting the nation's energy needs — an approach that may preserve jobs, raise the standard of living of Americans, and alleviate the alarming depletion of natural resources including natural gas, petroleum, and coal. Even more important, nuclear energy offers the only practical, environmentally benign approach to generating electricity on a large scale because it releases no harmful SO2, NOX, CO2, or particulate matter into the atmosphere. Nuclear energy has played, and continues to play, an important role in space exploration. Nuclear engineering has enabled the use of isotopic power supplies in deep space probes like the Cassini mission, and may eventually be used to design fission or fusion-based systems for more demanding missions.

Since the discovery of fission 60 years ago, electricity is being produced commercially in a several hundred-billion-dollar industry. Applications of radioactive tracers have been made in medicine, science, and industry. Radiation from particle accelerators and materials made radioactive in nuclear reactors are used worldwide to treat cancer and other diseases, to provide the power for satellite instrumentation, to preserve food, to sterilize medical supplies, to search for flaws in welds and piping, and to polymerize chemicals. In addition, there is evidence from plasma research laboratories that breakthroughs are imminent in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion.

The Nuclear Power curriculum prepares students for careers in the nuclear industry and government — with electric utility companies, in regulatory positions with the federal or state governments, or for major contractors on the design and testing of improved reactors for central-station power generation or for propulsion of naval vessels.

The Radiation Sciences curriculum prepares students to pursue careers in health physics and the medical applications of radiation and nuclear processes. Advanced study at the M.S. level in either medical physics or health physics is recommended for students pursuing this option. Medical physicists may participate in the radiation treatment of cancer patients and in advanced medical imaging and diagnostic procedures. Health physicists may operate radiation protection programs at nuclear industrial facilities, hospitals, laboratories, and nuclear power plants, or may develop new methods of measuring ionizing radiation.

Because the curriculum provides a strong foundation in math and physics, it also prepares the graduate for work in many areas where a broad technical background is more important than specialization in a specific field. Thus, the graduate is also prepared to work in any area where a broad engineering background is helpful, such as management, marketing, etc. Recent graduates have found opportunities in finance and in consulting services. Deregulation of the electric utility industry is also providing opportunities for students who understand both electricity generation and business principles.

Finally, the curriculum gives students excellent preparation for graduate study in nuclear engineering as well as allied fields in science and engineering. Recent graduates have elected to pursue graduate study in physics, medicine, and business in addition to nuclear engineering.

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