West Texas Nuclear Energy Education (NEEd) Project

Executive SummaryThe University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) is a small (~3,700 students) Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with two-thirds of the students being first-generation college graduates. UTPB seeks to increase the number of West Texans, particularly Hispanic West Texans, entering careers in nuclear science and engineering in our region and nationwide. A key part of our program is the NRC Coordinator/Mentor who was hired from the Dallas (Texas) Independent School District ?talented and gifted program.? The NRC Coordinator/Mentor also helps with their Senior Projects, is the Advisor for the Student ANS Chapter, helps recruit students from targeted high schools, assists with the regional science fair, and coordinates one ?nuclear? field trip per semester when funds are available. An agreement between the Los Alamos National Laboratory and UTPB also allows some students to work at LANL in the summer.The NEEd program at UTPB was instrumental in starting new degree programs in 2005 that included Bachelor Degrees in Mechanical Engineering (ME), and Mechanical Engineering with a ?Nuclear Emphasis? (ME-Nu). In 2011 a Bachelors Degree in Petroleum Engineering (PE) is being added. In May and June of 2011 UTPB graduated its first five ME students with four being ME-Nu. One of first graduates is attending Graduate School on a research fellowship in Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University. Two of the other ?ME-Nu? graduates are now working in the nuclear industry, and one plans to eventually work in the nuclear industry but currently has a position in another phase of the energy industry to be near his parents.This past year the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) mandated that all publicly-funded universities in Texas have a minimum of 10 students in each academic classroom. UTPB intends to use a ?structured ladder? system of nuclear scholarships from the NEEd program to maintain at least this minimum number of students for program sustainability. The ladder is currently structured as: Rung 1 - $1,000/semester, Rung 2 - $2,000/semester, and Rung 3 - $4,000/semester. Students with the higher grades are Rung 3 and those with the lower are Rung 1. If a student has a decrease in GPA in any one semester they are lowered a rung. If their GPA improves, they are eligible to be raised a rung (based on available funding).The NEEd project is a University-wide effort to meet the needs of the growing regional nuclear energy industry for science and engineering degreed graduates with expertise in nuclear energy. NEEd activities include:? Curriculum development to create academic programs appropriate for entry into nuclear energy industry careers;? Promotion of nuclear energy careers to students in area junior high schools, high schools, and colleges;? Support for UTPB students identified as pursuing nuclear career education (NEEd students); and? Provision of extracurricular experiences in nuclear energy for NEEd students.