Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 4 No. 4 Winter 2019 | Page 16

16
Mechanical engineering offers new
minor in nuclear engineering
Beginning January 2020, a minor in nuclear
engineering will be available to College of En-
gineering and College of Science undergrad-
uate students in addition to other majors that
meet the course requirements. Naval ROTC
students are encouraged to obtain the minor if
they will be going into the nuclear Navy.
“The goal of the minor is to prepare engi-
neering and science students for careers at nu-
clear engineering-related companies, nuclear
power plants, state and national government
positions, the Nuclear Regulatory Commis-
sion, the U.S. Navy, naval shipyards that build
nuclear-powered ships and submarines, and
for graduate students in nuclear engineering,”
said Mark Pierson, associate professor of
practice in mechanical engineering.
The minor requires 18 credit hours with
four required courses and two electives. Most
engineering and science students take an
introduction to differential equations course,
which is a prerequisite for some of the nuclear
engineering courses. An additional five cours-
es are then needed to complete the minor.
As most engineering degrees require five
technical electives, the nuclear course electives
would in most cases satisfy technical elective
requirements. Many students could add the
nuclear engineering minor without adding to
their academic course load.
The minor, according to Pierson, will
also help encourage students to pursue
graduate degrees in nuclear engineering
offered through the mechanical engineering
department.
Interested students should check with their
academic advisors to see the full list of prereq-
uisites for nuclear engineering courses.
Minor Requirements: 18 credit hours
Required courses (4):
- MATH 2214 - Introduction to differential
equations
- NSEG 3145 - Fundamentals of nuclear
engineering I (Fall)
- NSEG 3146 - Fundamentals of nuclear
engineering II (Spring)
- NSEG 3604 - Radiation detection, protec-
tion and shielding
NSEG 5114 – Nuclear engineering fun-
damentals may be substituted for NSEG
3145/3146 sequence, but then a third elective
course will be required for the total 18 credit
hours.
Electives (2):
- MSE 4384 - Nuclear materials
- NSEG 4204 - Nuclear fuel cycle
- NSEG 4214 - Nuclear power plant
operations
- NSEG 4424 - Reactor thermal hydraulics
- NSEG 4994 - Nuclear engineering under-
graduate research (3 hours max)
- NSEG 4974 - Nuclear engineering inde-
pendent study (3 hours max)