Nuclear energy academia or industry

[epislon58]

If one wanted to work with/research nuclear energy would one go to academia or industry. And if industry, can you name the company? Thank you

 

[UltrafastPED]

For research contact any Nuclear Engineering department - many engineering graduate schools have one.

For example: http://www.engin.umich.edu/ners/academics/grad

For industry you would need experience (e.g., training from the US Navy's submarine nuclear reactor school), or a degree in nuclear engineering.

Or as a blend of industry/academia try the US national laboratories.

 

[jim hardy]

Why not both ?


In my brief academic career (BSEE, with a couple nuclear courses) the professors who had some industry experience presented more interesting lectures. It's because they spoke from personal experience, which is rule #1 in public speaking..

For an extreme* view, see Rickover's "paper reactors, real reactors" here:
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover

An academic reactor or reactor plant almost always has the following basic characteristics: (1) It is simple. (2) It is small. (3) It is cheap. (4) It is light. (5) It can be built very quickly. (6) It is very flexible in purpose. (7) Very little development will be required. It will use off-the-shelf components. (8) The reactor is in the study phase. It is not being built now.

On the other hand a practical reactor can be distinguished by the following characteristics: (1) It is being built now. (2) It is behind schedule. (3) It requires an immense amount of development on apparently trivial items. (4) It is very expensive. (5) It takes a long time to build because of its engineering development problems. (6) It is large. (7) It is heavy. (8) It is complicated.

* Rickover was perhaps too harsh ?

 

[Astronuc]

There are many aspects to nuclear energy.

ANS can provide some information on careers and various aspects of nuclear engineering.
http://www.ans.org/pi/matters/

One could work in academia or a national lab or research center, or regulatory body.

One could work at a supplier, e.g., AREVA, GEH/GNF, or Toshiba/Westinghouse, or one of the newer SMR developers, e.g., mPower, NuScale, Terrapower, . . .

One could work in the nuclear industry at a nuclear power plant, or in an engineering capacity at a utility, or for one of many engineering/architect firms that support then nuclear industry.

 

[jadair1]

Best to just get a job at Walmart, nuclear is dead.

 

[epislon58]

Lol at the above poster. Every field I've ever researched is dead. Computer science, you will be replaced my foreigners, doctors because healthcare Is going to be bad and so on and so forth. So I have decided to do what I am interested in. Because whatever I do, people will always say it is not a good field, due to so and so reason.

 

[jim hardy]

Battelle just renewed contract to manage Idaho National Lab for five more years...
I am encouraging my two sons to apply.

 

[epislon58]

Jim, if you don't mind me asking, what is your educational background?

 

[jim hardy]

Jim, if you don't mind me asking, what is your educational background?

it's sparse compared to most of the folks here.
BS in electrical engineering , 1969 , when slide rules roamed the earth.
Took one undergrad course in Reactor Physics because it was a pre-requisite for the course in Reactor Operation, which i also took. Went to work in a nuclear power plant . Loved it, retired in 2002.