Nuclear engineering minor

The department’s Nuclear Engineering Program — ranked 12th in the nation in
U.S. News and World Report 2018 edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools — also offers an undergraduate minor in nuclear engineering.

“The nuclear engineering minor was a natural outgrowth of our graduate program,” said Faculty Director of the Minor in Nuclear Engineering Vaibhav Sinha. “With the increasing demand by industry for students with general experience in nuclear engineering, we responded by developing this minor.”

Additional value of the program lies in its hands-on learning aspect and research opportunities.

“Students in many minor programs do not typically complete research or have the opportunity to do hands-on work,” said Sinha. “Having that option available to students was important for us to include, and is available thanks to the research already being done by faculty.”

Minor program students learn experientially by performing real-time simulations using the nuclear power plant simulator; executing experiments at the Nuclear Reactor Lab (reactor.osu.edu) to learn about various radiation detection and
instrumentation techniques; and developing advanced knowledge in nuclear thermal hydraulics, radiation protection and shielding.

The minor is meant to complement a variety of majors from STEM fields and to provide students with the knowledge and skills for many entry-level positions in the nuclear industry. Sinha summarized the program’s objectives.

“The minor leverages the department’s depth of knowledge to equip students with a foundational understanding of the field of nuclear engineering.”

This story originally appeared in the 2018 Exchange Alumni News Publication from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering site.