The core of the Federal Center reactor viewed from
above through 20 feet of water

Dangerous levels of fallout from the Chernobyl disaster didn't reach U.S. shores - not lieterally.

But for decades the 1986 meltdown at the Soviet nuclear power plant influenced public opinion, driving power companies away from the technology. However, nuclear energy is now making a comeback, and Colorado School of Mines is poised to make a substantial contribution to the industry's educational and research needs.

This fall the School launched the Nuclear Science and Engineering Program, an interdisciplinary graduate program designed to train scientists and engineers, and promote research for the next generation of nuclear power. The academic program will offer a suite of graduate courses leading to MS and PhD degrees. The research component of the initiative, tagged the Nuclear Science and Engineering Research Center (NuSERC), will solicit and coordinate industry-driven projects.

"It's a cradle-to-grave vision," says Jim McNeil, head of the Physics Department. "The nuclear programcovers the entire process of nuclear power generation, from finding it in the ground; to processing it; to putting it in a fule rod; to monitoring the changes in its chemical, material and physical properties; and, finally, to disposing of it responsibly. A detailed and comprehensive understanding of that entire cycle is necessary to generate nuclear power safely."

"It will be the only cradle-to-grave program in the country," adds Bruce Honeyman, a nuclear waste-disposal expert who teaches in the Division of Environmental Science and Engineering. "There's no other program that can train students in every phase of the cycle, so the School is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the increased demand for nuclear expertise."

That increased demand is being driven largely by the need to address global warming by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. As public alarm over climate change has mounted, opposition to nuclear energy has softened. Meanwhile, the costs associated with emissions control have made nuclear an increasingly attractive financial option for power utilities. The Nuclear Regulatory Commision is reviewing 17 permits for construction of new nuclear power plants, and it has announced plans to hire another 1,300 engineers by 2008.

A second factor is the graying of the current nuclear work force. In the 20 years since Chernobyl, universities have trained fewer nuclear engineers because tehre weren't many jobs waiting for them. So the current work force is approaching retirement age at just the moment that the industry's personnel needs are increasing.

The new program unites a wide variety of nuclear energy-related activities spread across almost a dozen departments that have prepared students for specialized roles within the industry for decades. McNeil points out that, "Mines has all the pieces of a comprehensive nuclear engineering program. The Physics Department has a strong nuclear science faculty, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering does extensive research into nuclear materials and fuels, Environmental Science and Engineering conducts research on nuclear waste disposal and containment, Mining has been involved in the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site and Electrical Engineering faculty have expertise in electric power. The only addition needed is expertise in nuclear systems engineering."

To complete the picture, Mines hopes to attract two nuclear engineering faculty members once the program gets underway this year. "in addition to instructional responsibilities, their job will also be to integrate all the disparate efforts that are underway across campus in the research center and connect them to the national and international research efforts in the nuclear engineering field," says Uwe Greife, an associate professor of physics and the interim director of the academic program.

Currently Greife is focusing on the curriculum development and student recruitment. While he intends to recruit nationwide, Mines undergraduates will specifically be targeted. "A number of students have already expressed interest," he says. "For those who do, I am staying in contact and making sure that they take the appropriate undergraduate coursework."

In addition to coordinating existing research efforts, NuSERC will expand the scope of activities with support and collaboration from industry, national labs and federal agencies. "We will be covering mining, processing, synthesis and recycling of nuclear fuels; nuclear reactor modeling and design; materials science of nuclear materials; nuclear waste treatment, containment and disposal; applications of nuclear energy for hydrogen production; environmental health and safety; and environmental processing and policy," says John Moore, head of the Metallurgy and Materials Engineering Department, who is also serving as NuSERC's interim director.

The program enjoys broad support among Mines' industry and public-sector-partners, and it offers opportunities for collaboration with the University of Colorado, Colorado State and research institutions outside the state such as Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore. One particularly fruitful partnership in place is with the U.S. Geological Survey, which operates a small research reactor at the Federal Center in Lakewood, just six miles from campus. The cost of building a nuclear reactor on campus would clearly be prohibitive. On the other hand, it would be hard to earn credibility as a first-class nuclear science and engineering program without giving students access to the real thing. Because students can take classes on-site at the USGS reactor facility, the program will enjoy a distinct advantage.

Launching the program will not pose any safety concerns for students or the surrounding community, McNeil points out. "There won't be a great change to the use of radioactive materials on campus," he says. "We already do research on nuclear materials, but that has been the case for years. The nuclear reactor lab will be taught at the Federal Center, and it is under strict NRC regulation."

McNeil hopes the program will help change the public's perceptions regarding the "dangers" of nuclear power. "We have to get past the politics of the Chernobyl era," he says. "The technology has evolved to a point where accidents like Chernobyl can no longer happen. Chernobyl turned people away from nuclear power, and that's a shame. We need nuclear power today to bear its share of solving the carbon proglem."

"If the nuclear industry is to continue reawakening, we have to emphasize safety," agrees Honeyman. "People have a different view of risk vis-à-vis nuclear power than risk associated with fossil fuels. In the public's mind, the risks associated with nuclear power are perceived as greater than for the utilization of fossil fuels. However, if you evaluate and compare the risks of entire life cycles, from extraction to disposal, I'm not sure nuclear comes out so badly."

"It may take a while for perception to catch up to reality," McNeil admits. "But from a purely technological standpoint, nuclear power generation is already less hazardous than its fossil-fuel-based counterpart. It's also cheaper," he argues, "once the environmental costs of coal-fired energy are accounted for."

"Historically, a large part of Mines' mission has been in the energy sector," McNeil says. "For many years, we've fulfilled that mission primarily in fossil fuels. For us to continue fulfilling in the future, it's necessary for us to increase our presence in nuclear power as well. We absolutely want to support a revitalized nuclear energy industry, and we have an important role to play."