The main cause for the slump in the industry after the 1980s was because of public distrust of nuclear power after witnessing accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Now, many people are beginning to re-examine nuclear power as a clean, safe alternative to traditional energy sources.
The field is open for students since most engineers currently employed by nuclear companies are set to retire within the next 10 years.
"Companies are telling us they could hire 400 to 500 new engineers every year and not meet their needs," Ball said. "And with Virginia Tech being the largest engineering school in the state, they're turning to us."
Graduate student Andrew Boulanger is one of those new engineers. Having completed his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, he is currently one of about 50 graduate students studying nuclear engineering with Pierson.
"My advice to students who want to do this is to sign up for the class," Boulanger said. "There are so many things you can do with nuclear engineering."
The department's main goals for curriculum and research development are to deal with the issues of nuclear power, waste, proliferation and the public's concept of the safety of nuclear technology.
Boulanger hopes to help "dispel the stigmatism that nuclear power is dangerous."
"Almost a quarter of the energy in the United States is from nuclear reactors," Boulanger said, "so they must be doing something right."
Eventually, the department hopes to broaden its focus to include a wider range of programs, including those in the colleges of science, medicine and veterinary medicine.
"It's not just the Department of Mechanical Engineering," Ball said. "You can go across campus and find a wide range of faculty who are involved with research in the nuclear engineering field."
The program continues to receive support both internally and externally.
"What we've done in such a short amount of time would not have been possible without strong support across campus," Ball said.
Additionally, on Sept. 30, Dale Klein, one of the current commissioners of the NRC and former chairman under President George W. Bush, will visit Tech to meet with various groups and observe the nuclear engineering department in action.
"This visit is just one more very visible external sign that we've arrived and that we have a bona fide engineering program," Ball said.
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