CONSOLIDATION OF REACTOR PHYSICS EDUCATION – THE KHALIFA UNIVERSITY STUDENT FIELD TRIPS CASE STUDY

Abstract

In 2010, the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Khalifa University of Science and Technology (NUCE) established the MSc degree in Nuclear Engineering. This program was established to support the United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerging civil nuclear energy program and produce graduate engineers capable of supporting the safe construction, operation, maintenance and eventual decommissioning of the UAE nuclear reactors. In order to enhance and consolidate classroom teaching, an overseas “Field Trip” module was integrated into the MSc curriculum in order to provide practical exercises, demonstrations and site visits. With respect to the consolidation of reactor physics teaching in particular, the field trips over the past 9 years have utilized mainly the AGN Zero Power reactor at Kyung Hee University (2012-2015) and the Breazeale TRIGA reactor at Penn State University (2017-2018). In both cases students gained “hands-on” supervised experience in classical reactor experiments, shielding measurements, health physics and radiological protection control, and radioanalytical measurement methods, such as neutron activation analysis. At Penn State University, the experiments were extended to surveillance measurements, taking advantage of the facilities specialized modules in nuclear security. This paper provides details of the arrangements made for the field trips and the learning outcomes these practical arrangements helped to satisfy meeting the overall degree outcomes. The case study will also illustrate where a nuclear energy newcomer State can take advantage of international collaborations without the need to invest in a national research reactor.

Keywords

• reactor physics education
• field trips
• research reactors