Amir Vera
Staff Writer
VCU will be the first university in Virginia to offer a hybrid doctoral program combining mechanical and nuclear engineering, beginning spring 2013.
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia approved the program on Sept. 25. According to Gary Tepper, Chair of the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, the new program will reflect VCU’s leadership in developing and offering educational programs.
“We’re breaking new ground with this and anticipating what the next challenges are going to be, where they’re going to be and developing new curricula to help solve them,” Tepper said. “I think it’s just an example of VCU providing leadership in offering (a) new, broad, interdisciplinary and cutting-edge degree program.”
A doctoral degree in mechanical engineering is already offered, as is a master’s-level degree in mechanical and nuclear engineering, but no nuclear engineering doctoral degree track exists at VCU.
The new program illustrates VCU’s new initiative to push students in STEM-H fields to get into fields where they are more likely to get a job, something that was discussed Sept. 21 at the VCU schools of Education and Engineering town hall meeting with Debra Saunders-White, the deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs of the U.S. Department of Education.
“In keeping with our strategic plan, the new VCU School of Engineering doctoral program in mechanical and nuclear engineering is additional evidence of VCU’s commitment to attracting highly motivated and well-prepared students with an interest in leading in the STEM-H fields,” VCU President Michael Rao said in a press release.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over 50 percent of those currently in the field are between 45 and 64 years old. Waves of retirements over the next few years could lead to a lot of job openings – as many as 200,000 jobs if a quarter of the 45-64 age group retires within the next five years.
According to Tepper, the first class in the program will be about 20 students. He predicts that in about five years, as the program develops, it will be closer to 50 enrolled students. The combination of nuclear and mechanical engineering will allow this incoming class of researchers to be more flexible within their field, he said.
“This new program provides advanced doctorate level training and will produce a new kind of researcher that has skills in both disciplines,” Tepper said. “The students coming out of the program will be better equipped to tackle new research challenges at the intersection of mechanical and nuclear engineering.”
According to Karla Mossi, the Director of Graduate Studies for the department, one of those challenges is the perception of nuclear engineering’s negative impact on the environment.
“One of the issues with nuclear engineering is that it’s associated with not being green. That’s a big misconception in society. These new engineers who could be partners with environmental scientists are looking for ways to be greener, that’s something you didn’t see 30 years ago,” Mossi said.
VCU has already received letters of support, Mossi said, from seven different companies from around Virginia, including Dominion and Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems. Rossi said these companies support the program and are willing to offer jobs straight out of the program.