John W. Poston, Sr.

John W. Poston, Sr.

[M.S.N.E. 1969, Ph.D. NE 1971]
Professor
Department of Nuclear Engineering
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas

I enrolled in the School of Nuclear Engineering, not the Woodruff School, in 1967. [The School of Nuclear Engineering became part of the Woodruff School in 1984.] I decided to come to Georgia Tech for several reasons. First, at the time, it had one of the best nuclear engineering programs in the country. Second, I was offered a traineeship which paid for my education and also paid a monthly stipend. Third, Georgia Tech had a great reputation as one of the best technical universities in the country. Finally, Atlanta was close to my home in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and moving to Atlanta was quite attractive.

My graduate experience was great. I was an older student but there were many others in the department at that time. In addition, there was a large faculty with diverse backgrounds that allowed us to grow and learn about lots of subjects. The Head was Dr. Carlyle J. Roberts and he was a great leader and made all the students feel welcome as well as encouraging us to do our very best. In addition, he was a great teacher and led the school by example.

The graduate program when I was a student was one of the best. We had great teachers, many with years of experience in the "real world" that made our education special and relevant. The research conducted at Tech was important to national and international nuclear activities. The enthusiasm of the faculty and staff made it a great learning experience.

At the time, I would rate the graduate program among the best. This is reflected in the number of graduates of the program who have gone on to be a success in the field. We had some of the best facilities in the country with the nuclear reactor and hot cell and everything else at the Neely Nuclear Research Center.