About INIE

The Innovations in Nuclear Education and Infrastructure (INIE) Program was established in 2001 to strengthen the Nation’s university nuclear engineering education programs through innovative use of university research and training reactors and encouraging partnerships between the universities, the Department of Energy national laboratories and US industry.

Background

In 1975 there were 47 universities offering degrees in nuclear engineering. In 2001 there were only 24 similar programs with at least a half-dozen additional programs being threatened for closure. In 1979, there were approximately 1,800 students enrolled in B.S. degree programs; 900 in M.S. programs; and 600 in Ph.D. nuclear engineering programs. In 1999, there were 550 B.S. degree students, 250 M.S. degree students and 190 Ph.D. students. In short, there was a dramatic and an alarming decline of the educational infrastructure relative to nuclear engineering in the United States over those twenty years. This came at a time when the demand for nuclear engineers tripled the supply at all degree levels and projections were for the demands to quadruple the available supply by 2004.
 
Corresponding to this trend, in 1979 there were 63 research reactors located at universities throughout the United States. In 2001, there were 27. As noted in a June 2001 report by a Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee (NERAC) Task Force on University Reactors (full report, pdf format), university research and training reactors were underutilized and, as a result, were being decommissioned.  According to the task force, the reason for the lack of utilization was a chronic inability to generate sufficient funds to procure and maintain state-of-the-art instrumentation and technical staff support for prospective users.
 
University research reactors are the focus of research in support of nuclear science and technology.  They also support multi-disciplinary research with important contributions to physics, chemistry, biology medicine, epidemiology, environmental science, material science, fluid mechanics, geology, archeology, paleontology, forensic science, human factors, and many other fields.

As a result of the findings of the NERAC task force, the Innovations in Nuclear Infrastructure and Education (INIE) program was established to provide qualified universities and reactor facilities that were serving the university community with funds to improve the instrumentation and equipment used at those facilities; maintain highly qualified research reactor staff; establish programs that fully integrate the use of university research reactors with nuclear engineering education programs; and establish internal and external user programs. The INIE program encourages universities to actively seek and establish enhanced collaboration with other colleges and universities, DOE national laboratories, U.S. industry, and other private and/or public organizations. Through the INIE program, the Nation’s university nuclear engineering education programs prosper, university research and training reactors remain operational, and the next generation of nuclear scientists and engineers are being prepared to support the Nation’s future energy security and national security needs.