Undergraduate Program Information for Nuclear and Radiological Engineering
What Do Nuclear Engineers Do?
Nuclear engineers are concerned with the production, utilization, and environmental impact of energy from nuclear fission and fusion sources.
Today, the diversity of nuclear energy allows a variety of applications, from powering space exploration to the large-scale generation of electricity. Nuclear power, which provides more than 20 percent of the electricity produced in the United States, should continue to be a major means of generating electricity because there is a growing concern about the environmental effect of burning fossil fuels and sustainable development.
Nuclear engineers find jobs in nuclear power plants, R&D laboratories that design advanced fission reactors and develop nuclear fusion as an energy source, and national laboratories that conduct research in all phases of nuclear and radiological engineering.
What Do Radiological Engineers Do?
Radiological engineering is an emerging discipline that combines a broad-based knowledge of applied atomic, nuclear, and radiation physics; nuclear and radioactive materials; radiation detection; radiation dosimetry and shielding; nuclear energy production; and engineering fundamentals.
Radiological engineers do things such as:
- Design and analyze radiation sources and/or detection instruments for medical, agricultural, industrial, research, and environmental applications.
- Apply radiation protection engineering principles to ensure the safe use of atomic and nuclear technology.
- Address the problems of the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear and radioactive materials management; the production and processing of nuclear source materials and radioisotopes; materials transportation and storage; and the disposal of waste materials including assay, criticality safety, worker protection, cost, and optimization of facility management.
- Assess the environmental impact of nuclear facilities using the principles of radiological assessment.
Nuclear Science and Technology Are Vital to the U.S.A.
Nuclear science and technology are important to America's future and to the global economy. A Georgia Tech graduate with a bachelor of science degree in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering (BSNRE) might work in:
- Medicine and Health: To sterilize medical products, test new drugs, to diagnose, and for therapy.
- Electricity Production: To optimize the operation of nuclear power plants, perform analyses and experiments to ensure the safety of these plants, design higher performance nuclear fuel elements, and develop radioactive waste disposal technologies.
- Environmental Protection: To determine the amount and the location of pollution, the causes of pollution and the proper remedies; and for use in air and water pollution, global warming, soil contamination, and solid waste disposal.
- Industry: To develop tracers, thickness and density gauges, inspections, smoke detectors, lighting, tires, and to reduce static electricity.
- Agriculture: To reduce the need for fertilizers and water, to speed breeding of improved crops, animal husbandry, insect control, and food irradiation.
The Undergraduate Program
The undergraduate curriculum in nuclear and radiological engineering is structured to meet the needs of the student who contemplates employment immediately after graduation and the student planning to pursue graduate study. It provides maximum flexibility, such as options for each student to develop his or her unique interests and capabilities.
The core curriculum covers the basic principles of nuclear engineering, nuclear reactor physics, nuclear reactor core design, reactor systems engineering, radiation sources and detection instruments, radiation transport, radiation protection, criticality safety, regulatory requirements, radioactive materials management, and radiation protection engineering as well as fundamental courses in engineering, mathematics, and the physical sciences.
Typical Courses for the BSNRE
- Introduction to Nuclear and Radiological Engineering: An overview of the field of nuclear and radiological engineering.
- Nuclear and Radiological Engineering Design: A complete open-ended design project in nuclear and radiological engineering.
- Nuclear Radiation Detection: A laboratory introduction to the principles and characteristics of basic detectors for nuclear radiation and the associated electronics systems.
- Nuclear Reactor Physics: The physical principles of nuclear reactors, neutron diffusion, criticality dynamics, fuel depletion and control.
- Methods for Radiation Applications: Numerical and experimental methods for the application of radiation in industry and medicine.
- Radiation Physics: Atomic and nuclear radiation, nuclear reaction kinematics, interactions of photons, neutrons, and charged particles with matter, the characterization of radiation fields.
- Radiation Protection Engineering: The principles of protecting humans from radioactive material use and associated radiation.
- Radiation Sources and Radioactive Materials Management: Particle accelerators, reactors, and other radiation sources used for applications. Isotope buildup and depletion in nuclear systems; isotope enrichment; nuclear reactor fuel cycle; radioisotope production; radioactive waste management.
- Reactor Engineering: Thermalhydraulic principles of fission reactors.
BSNRE Electives:
- Introduction to Fusion Power
- Light Water Reactor Technology
- Nuclear Regulatory Requirements
- Nuclear Criticality Safety Engineering
- Radiation Imaging
The Advantages of a Georgia Tech Degree
- The Institute is proactive toward a rapidly changing focus in the nuclear engineering job market.
- The Institute provides a challenging and excellent academic program.
- Students have access to state-ofthe-art computing facilities and to one of the most extensive technical libraries in the nation.
- Students enjoy a number of resources unique to their interest: Many corporations, regulatory offices, and training facilities are located in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Approximately one-third of the undergraduates in the program participate in the Cooperative Education Program, which enables students to gain on-the-job experience by alternating terms of study and employment in industry.
- Faculty members maintain important links with industry and government through collaborative research efforts.
Academic Common Market (ACM)
The ACM provides an exciting opportunity for students from the southeast whose state universities do not offer a BSNRE degree. Students accepted to Georgia Tech in the BSNRE program pay (Georgia) in-state tuition and must maintain ACM status.
NRE Scholarships
Unique scholarship opportunities exist for Georgia Tech BSNRE students. In addition to national NRE scholarships sponsored by the National Academy for Nuclear Training, the U. S. Department of Energy, and professional societies, Georgia Tech offers scholarships sponsored by local industry, as well as the prestigious George W. Woodruff NRE Scholarship.
If you want to receive additional information about the BSNRE program at Georgia Tech, contact the:
Inquiries regarding admission to Georgia Tech should be addressed to:
Applicants interested in the co-op program should write directly to the:
Cooperative Division
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0260
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