The March 2nd “Working in the Nuclear Industry Colloquium” was a big step in the right direction for NA-YGN. It was one of the 1st events at the university level that included so many different organizations. The event brought together NA-YGN members from the Midlands Chapter and the Carolinas Chapter as well as ANS, NEI, and the student chapter of ASCE. Members represented a broad range of the nuclear industry, from utilities such as SCE&G & Duke Energy to government agencies such as SRS and Washington Group to vendors such as Westinghouse.
Over 30 students participated! Professors from the college attended such as Dr. Pierce (the ASCE faculty adviser and university contact for the event), Dr. Knight from the Nuclear Engineering Graduate Program, and others. We had excellent support and encouragement from the university. The Director of Development for the College of Engineering and Information Technology, William LaMotte, attended as well. Mr. LaMotte expressed his excitement about the upcoming career fair and hopes of continuing relations with the nuclear industry.
Dr. Pierce and Zachary Ashcraft prior to the presentation. Dr. Pierce is the student ASCE faculty advisor.
The presentation covered a broad range of topics in an effort to describe the different opportunities available both in the nuclear industry and more specifically to upcoming engineers. The students asked some really good questions such has how a PE certification would help them in the industry, the viability of future of the nuclear industry when it came to used fuel, how fuel is recycled, and of course what kind of salaries they could expect. By having such a diverse group of presenters we were able to answer all of the students and professors’ questions. The 2006 benchmarking report was very helpful and was of great interest. Summary copies of the report in brochure form were available to the students after the presentation along with an array of literature on the nuclear industry and brochures from employers.
The students are mesmerized by our presentation
We will be using the USC event as a model to be developed at other universities as well. We hope that we can make improvements to our program and return in the following years to reach more students. It wasn’t perfect, but exceed expectations of a 1st model. We will receive feedback from the students through Dr. Pierce about the event and will be able to make some improvements for the next time.
NA-YGN was able to reach out and spread some knowledge to the young and upcoming engineers. This was the 1st step towards creating a positive reputation with the community and university. Over the next few years the NA-YGN colloquium might become an annual event not only at the University of South Carolina, but other accredited Universities as well.
Amy Buu, Vice President of NA-YGN (National), tells the students about NA-YGN’s organization and mission
Andrew Atwood, Westinghouse Materials Engineer, describing to the students what he does as a consultant in the nuclear industry
