Nuclear Science & Engineering

Many Diverse Opportunities await graduates of the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering (NRE) Department because nuclear sciences have and will continue to make major contributions to electricity production, medical diagnostic imaging and therapy, non-destructive testing as well as radiation detection and measurement. These opportunities will continue to grow as we face more challenges in energy production and medicine. For the last 3 decades, the nuclear industry has contributed over 20% of our country’s electricity production, and major advances continue to be made in the development of radiation diagnostics and treatment for medical and industrial applications. Besides strong emphasis on mathematics, physics, and computer science, the NRE curriculum involves all aspects of design and operation of nuclear systems. The curriculum covers a variety of subjects including radiation interactions, particle diffusion and transport, reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, control, fuel cycle and waste management, risk assessment, and radiation protection and dosimetry. To advance the use of nuclear science and engineering, the NRE faculty have been involved in cutting edge research in many different areas including radiation imaging for medical diagnosis and therapy, high performance computing, advanced reactor design, and fuels for space nuclear power and propulsion, particle transport methods and their application for simulation of real-life nuclear systems; reactor physics; robotics; advanced nuclear fuel design; and nondestructive testing and detection. The NRE curriculum is very unique offering students four graduate degrees including: Nuclear Engineering, Medical Physics, Health Physics.