The University of Tennessee currently ties for third in U.S. News’ ranking of nuclear engineering programs. A recent $3 million endowment from the Tennessee Valley Authority may change that.
“TVA’s endowment of the nuclear engineering department chair at the University of Tennessee is a strategic investment in America’s energy future,” TVA President and CEO Don Moul said.
UT’s freshman class of nuclear engineering students has tripled in the last three years, according to Jamie Coble, the department’s associate head.
“Nuclear is a clean, efficient, reliable, safe source of energy,” Coble said. “I think most of our students come in because they see the capabilities of nuclear science and technology to solve really big problems, whether it’s energy production or other things.”
The drastic increase in enrollment in the department, while beneficial to UT’s position in the field of nuclear engineering, has put a strain on students and faculty. TVA’s endowment will be used to relieve that burden.
“A lot of the TVA endowment is going to support bringing on the right teaching faculty to make sure that all of the students are able to get the experience they want to have, and they’re not in a huge, 100-person classroom,” Coble said.
Using the endowment to take on more, full-time faculty members will also remove some pressure from current faculty, freeing up time for research and exploration.
“With our growing undergraduate enrollment, having faculty who are really just focused on teaching and delivering the curriculum … to students is really going to be important,” Coble said.
Department leaders have already started making use of the funds by hiring two full-time instructors, both of whom have already begun teaching.
“The immediate benefit is that our department has now hired the first two full time instructional faculty, who will be able to support increased course offerings within the department providing increased curriculum flexibility, and also see an increased presence of TVA in our department activities and recruiting for co-operative positions and full-time employment,” Brian Wirth, head of the department, said.
The donation points to a broader emphasis on nuclear energy as a sustainable energy source that demands more research. UT students are uniquely positioned to get involved in the future of nuclear engineering with Knoxville being nestled in between TVA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a number of other nuclear technology corporations.
“I think that, really, this signals that there is such a strong nuclear industry in the area, so there are so many opportunities,” Coble said. “If you have a company that is willing to make this kind of donation to a university, it’s because they want students to graduate and enter the workforce.”
Nuclear engineering students can expect a stronger connection between their academic department and TVA following the endowment, from career opportunities to internships.
“TVA has plans to significantly expand their electrical power generation capacity over the next decade to support economic development within TN,” Wirth said. “This presents tremendous career opportunities for our students.”
Even further, the donation places UT and the state of Tennessee at the forefront of nuclear expansion in upcoming years.
“Our region has a long history with nuclear science, technology and power production dating back to the early 1940s, and we fully expect that TN will lead the U.S. in a significant industry expansion that will increase the number of nuclear power plants and provide the power needed to recruit additional industries to our region,” Wirth said.
