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Nuclear Engineering

(Left to right) Students Cole Manfred and Emily Meilus inspect a virtual nuclear reactor using the RAPID system. Photo by Alex Parrish for Virginia Tech.
(Left to right) Students Cole Manfred and Emily Meilus inspect a virtual nuclear reactor using the RAPID system. Photo by Alex Parrish for Virginia Tech.

In 1956, Virginia Tech established a Nuclear Engineering Program within the Physics Department. Later this program was moved to the Mechanical Engineering Department, and offered degrees until 1985 at which time the program was terminated. In 2007, in response to the nuclear industry in Virginia, former Dean of Engineering, Dr. Richard Benson, and former Department Head of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Kenneth Ball, decided to reestablish a nuclear engineering program (NEP). Dr. Mark Pierson was hired and Prof. Eugene Brown from Mechanical Engineering Department was assigned to start the program by establishing courses, and initiating the application process for receiving approval from the State Council Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) for offering graduate degrees in nuclear engineering.

In 2011, Prof. Alireza Haghighat was hired, and he established the Nuclear Science and Engineering Lab (NSEL), which operated under the auspices of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) and Mechanical Engineering Department, tasked with promoting nuclear engineering education and research at NCR by offering courses and degrees, establishing regional agreements, and engaging in multidisciplinary research.

Between 2011 and 2014, Dr. Pierson, and Profs. Brown and Haghighat worked on the degree applications to SCHEV, and in July 2013, NEP received approvals from SCHEV for offering degrees (PhD, MS, and Masters of Engineering) in nuclear engineering, starting 2014 Spring Semester.

*In 2013, former Department Head appointed Dr. Pierson to direct the program. He served until March 2015, at which time, Dr. Azim Eskandarian, current Department Head, appointed Dr. Haghighat as the Director of the Program. Prof. Haghighat works closely with the rest of the core faculty located in Blacksburg and several affiliate faculty members to offer a vibrant educational and research program in Nuclear Engineering at VT. Particularly, he has taken advantage of the NCR campus, and established new educational programs and several research programs.

Nuclear Engineering Program at the GWMA (Northern Virginia Center, 7054 Haycock Road, Falls Church, VA 22043) and Blacksburg (Goodwin Hall) campuses is directed by Prof. Alireza Haghighat. Prof. Haghighat is located at the Greater Washington Metro Area campus.

In addition to coordinating activities and facilities in the Blacksburg campus, he has taken advantage of the GWMA location, and established two educational programs:

  1. Accelerated Masters of Engineering in Nuclear Engineering for the USNA midshipmen, first offering, Spring 2017.
  2. Graduate Certificate in Nuclear Science, Technology, and Policy (NuSTEP), first offering, Spring 2019.
  3. Nuclear Education Hub (NEH), project Under development, initiated Oct 2019.

Currently, the VT Nuclear Engineering Program has 6 full time faculty and 11 affiliate faculty from CSE, ME, MSE, Physics, STS, and SPIA. It is offered at the Blacksburg and NCR campuses. 

The nuclear faculty members have established research and educational activities in both campuses. Currently, the main areas of their activities include particle transport methods, reactor physics, reactor shielding, thermal hydraulics, nuclear materials. 

Faculty in Blacksburg

Nuclear Facilities
Nuclear UG Minor
Nuclear Graduate Program

Seminar Series

  • Article Item
    Toni Karlsson
    Nuclear seminar: Toni Karlsson , article

    Toni Karlsson, Research Scientist, INL, will give a talk entitled: "Investigations into Potential Fuel Salts for Molten Salt Reactors: Synthesis, Characterization, and Property Determination"

  • Article Item
    Christina Leggett
    Nuclear seminar: Christina Leggett , article

    Dr. Christina Leggett, Consultant, Booz Allen Hamilton, will give a talk entitled: "Reimagining the Nuclear Fuel Cycle to Support a Sustainable Nuclear Future,"

  • Article Item
    Luka Snoj
    Nuclear seminar: Luka Snoj , article

    Luka Snoj, Head of Reactor Physics Division, Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia, Associate Prof. (Ljubljana University), Adjunct Professor (VT), will give a talk entitled "From Splitting to Merging: The Dual Faces of Nuclear Power"

  • Article Item
    Dean Wang
    Nuclear seminar: Dean Wang , article

    Dean Wang, Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering, The Ohio State University, presents, "On the Smoothness of the Neutron Transport Solution and Its Implication on Numerical Convergence"

  • Article Item
    Valerio Mascolino
    Nuclear seminar: Valerio Mascolino , article

    Valerio Mascolino, Nuclear Engineer, Research and Test Reactor Group, Argonne National Laboratory, will give a talk entitled: "The U.S. High Performance Research Reactor (USHPRR) Project."

  • Article Item
    Rani Franovich
    Nuclear seminar: Rani Franovich , article

    Rani Franovich, Principal Consultant and Expert Witness, Nuclear ROSE Consulting, LLC, will give a talk entitled “The Time is Now: Nuclear Energy’s Past, Present, and Promise for the Future”

  • Article Item
    Brian Boyer
    Nuclear seminar: Brian Boyer , article

    Brian Boyer, Consultant with LucidCatalyst, former IAEA INPRO Section Head, will give a talk entitled "IAEA INPRO Guidance on Proliferation Resistance Key Concepts for New Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles."

  • Article Item
    Patrick Huber
    Nuclear seminar: Patrick Huber , article

    Patrick Huber presents, "Neutrinos & Nuclear Security."

  • Article Item
    Roland Backhaus
    Nuclear seminar: Roland Backhaus , article

    Roland Backhaus, Esq, Executive VP, USNC, presents "An Introduction to Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, the Micro Modular Reactor, and Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated Fuel."

  • Article Item
    Derek Rountree
    Nuclear seminar: Derek Rountree , article

    Derek Rountree, Senior Research Scientist at Luna Innovations Inc., will give a talk entitled "Fiber optic sensing for nuclear power applications."

Nuclear Engineering in the News

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