Education and Outreach

A row of students are listening to an NRL staff member while standing at the reactor pooltop. The pool wall is approximately waist-height.

Working alongside The Ohio State University Nuclear Engineering (NE) Program, NRL provides world-class education and training to graduate and undergraduate students in addressing the world’s biggest challenges in clean energy and nuclear non-proliferation. Hands-on student laboratory sessions at NRL complement the NE Program’s classroom instruction. In addition, many students work with faculty, both inside and outside the NE Program, on research projects utilizing the capabilities of the NRL for sponsors such as the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NASA, DOE national laboratories, and nuclear power plants. Students are prepared for successful careers in a variety of specialty areas associated with the application of radiation, radioactive materials, and nuclear fission. Graduates have gone on to work for a variety of organizations including research laboratories, design organizations, nuclear power plants, academic institutions, and regulatory bodies.

Two graduate-level classes and one undergraduate-level class utilize lab sessions at the Reactor Building in their curriculum. In addition, NRL facilities are used by a variety of students and educators. Activities include basic reactor experiments such as approach to critical and control rod calibration, neutron activation analysis demonstrations, and radiation safety training.

The NRL hosts a limited number of academic tour groups each year to support The Ohio State Nuclear Engineering program. Tour groups learn about the reactor and the control room, and observe a neutron-activation demo.