Nuclear engineering’s role in S&T’s future
Posted by Nancy Bowles
Rendering of a planned addition to Fulton Hall that would add much-needed space for nuclear engineering.
Missouri S&T has big plans for the next several years, including a new arrival district, the Missouri Protoplex and other campus improvements. One of the changes included in the master plan is a Fulton Hall addition that will add much-needed space and nuclear engineering facilities. If you click the link and scroll down to the main campus section, you’ll see the footprint for the proposed expansion (No. 9 on the legend).
For many years, Missouri S&T has been a leader in energy resource recovery, energy transmission, conversion, storage systems and energy efficiency. Carbon-intensive energy systems face compliance challenges. The White House has announced efforts to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030. Renewable resources like wind and solar are limited by capacity and geography. The time is right to look toward nuclear technology as the future of energy systems.
We are home to the first on-campus nuclear reactor in Missouri, and we’re proud to be one of a handful of U.S. universities to provide students with reactor experience as they prepare for careers in the growing nuclear energy field. In fact, alumni like you are leaders in the nuclear industry, government regulatory agencies and the U.S. Navy.
From advances in clean energy to lifesaving medical procedures and more, our teaching and research will educate the next generation of nuclear engineers and scientists and will elevate S&T on the national stage. Watch for news about tours of our building and more information about the proposed expansion. We look forward to growing along with Missouri S&T and continuing to prepare our students for successful careers.
All excellent features on our resume.
The trick will be to get states like California to actively adopt any of S&T’s ideas.
In the short term, I expect nuclear will not happen now and not until they get desperate, at which point it may be to late to continue the same standards of living for its inhabitants.
I attended a summer science program in 1960, and, if I remembered correctly, the MSM nuclear reactor was already up and operating. Even though in those days, all funding for MSM was funneled down through the University of Missouri, people recognized the importance of nuclear power and the need for facilities to train engineers for the future, and they recognized Rolla as the best place to locate the reactor.
A funny story from my time at MSM/UMR
(1961-65) is as follows: I was big into amateur radio and I regularly talked via radio to the technician that ran the reactor. He invited me to come over to see the reactor. While we were touring, he was showing me the “state-of-the-art electronics” (for the early 1960’s). Whatever he was showing me still had electronic tubes and, for some reason, he removed a tube to show me. This immediately set off a loud alarm, and a student working on a lower level came upstairs all in a panic. He was relieved to know it was a false alarm.
Wick Doll ChE ‘65