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Nuclear Engineering and Radiological
Sciences
Nuclear Engineering and Radiological
Sciences
Nuclear engineering and radiological
sciences are concerned with the direct
technological use of atomic and subatomic
particles. These applications have become an
inseparable part of much of modern
technological life: smoke detectors, nuclear
power reactors, nondestructive evaluation of
turbine blades, hardening of artificial hip
joints, treatment of radioactive waste, medical
CT and PET imaging, treatment of cancer using
radiotherapy—all of these rely on the
direct manipulation and measurements of parts
of atoms or their emitted energy. These are the
kinds of technologies that nuclear engineering
and radiological sciences encompasses.
The Undergraduate Program in Nuclear
Engineering and Radiological Sciences is
divided into two tracks (the nuclear
engineering track and the radiological science
track) both leading to the Bachelor of Science
in Engineering
degree—B.S.E.(N.E.R.S.).
Nuclear Engineering
The nuclear engineering track is intended
for students interested in nuclear power and
nuclear reactors. Students following this track
are generally interested in:
- Radiation transport and reactor physics:
Study of neutron and photon interactions with
matter and ways to control the
processes.
- Advanced nuclear reactors: Development of
Generation IV nuclear energy systems for the
21st century.
- Fuel cycle and safety analysis:
Evaluation of safety of nuclear power plants
and the development of environmentally
sustainable fuel cycles for nuclear energy
systems.
Radiological Sciences
The radiological sciences track is designed
for students who are interested in applying
radiation and subatomic particles in
environmental, biomedical, industrial and
scientific fields. Students pursuing this track
have options to work in:
- Radiation safety: Health physics, the
protection of people and the environment from
radiation in medical, industrial, and nuclear
power applications.
- Environmental sciences: Environmental
impact of the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear
waste disposal, and decommissioning of
nuclear facilities.
- Medical physics: Radiation diagnosis
(nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology)
and treatment of cancer and other diseases
(radiation therapy).
- Radiation measurements: Development of
advanced radiation detectors and medical and
industrial imaging systems.
- Radiation effects on materials: Study of
the deleterious effects of radiation on
engineering materials and applications of
radiation to enhance material
properties.
- Plasma materials processing: Utilization
of plasmas (charged gases of separated
electrons and ions) in industrial settings, such as in the etching of computer
chips.
Students interested in Biomedical
Engineering should consider the radiological
sciences track as one with sufficient
flexibility to ready them for their graduate
studies. The program is designed to provide a
basic common core, and then allow a wide range
of choices, from Nuclear Engineering and
Radiological Sciences, other College of
Engineering departments, the School of Public
Health, and the University of Michigan
Hospitals so that students can develop their
interests.
Students in either track learn the
fundamentals of modern physics and the
fundamentals of radiation measurement on which
these nuclear and radiation technologies are
based. In the senior year the tracks branch
apart into more specialized courses and design
studies.
Research Opportunities and
Scholarships
Programs have been established in the
Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences
Department which allow students to interact
with faculty and graduate students on different
research projects. These include the Fermi
Scholar Program specifically for first- and
second-year students and the Research
Opportunity Program for junior- and
senior-level students. In addition to the
research opportunities, scholarships are also
available for all levels (first-year through
completion of a B.S.E.) for those students
interested in this program of study.
The Department of Nuclear Engineering and
Radiological Sciences occupies the Mortimer E.
Cooley Laboratory, which contains departmental
offices, faculty offices, classrooms, and
several of the labs listed below.
Other laboratories of the department are
housed in the Phoenix Memorial Laboratory and
the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
(NAME) Building. The Department of Nuclear
Engineering and Radiological Sciences has a
number of special facilities and laboratories
that allow students to get hands-on experience
with systems that manipulate matter at a
fundamental level. These include:
- Bioelectromagnetism Laboratory
- High Temperature Corrosion
Laboratory
- Intense Energy Beam Interaction
Laboratory
- Irradiated Materials Testing
Laboratory
- Materials Preparation Laboratory
- Metastable Materials Laboratory
- Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory
- Nuclear Imaging and Measurements
Laboratory
- Radiation Detection Laboratory
- Radiation Effects and Nanomaterials
Laboratory
- Radiological Health Engineering
Laboratory
This program is accredited by the
Engineering Accreditation Commission of the
Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology (ABET), 111 Market
Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012, telephone (410) 347-7700.
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