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Abstract
The 65 colleges and universities offering undergraduate degrees in nuclear engineering and the 15 schools offering strong nuclear engineering options are, in general, doing a good job to meet the current spectrum of job opportunities. But, nuclear engineering programs are not producing enough graduates to meet growing demands. They currently receive little aid and support from their customers—industry and government—in the form of scholarships, grants, faculty research support, student thesis and project support, or student summer jobs. There is not enough interaction between industry and universities.
Most nuclear engineering programs are geared too closely to the technology of the present family of reactors and too little to the future breeder reactors and controlled thermonuclear reactors.
In addition, nuclear engineering programs attract too few women and members of minority ethnic groups. Further study of the reasons for this fact is needed so that effective corrective action can be taken.
Faculty in nuclear engineering programs should assume greater initiative to provide attractive and objective nuclear energy electives for technical and nontechnical students in other disciplines to improve their technical understanding of the safety and environmental issues involved.
More agressive and persistent efforts must be made by nuclear engineering schools to obtain industry support and involvement in their programs.