Abstract:
The world is facing serious a energy crisis in the near future due to the global oil production peak known as Hulbert's Peak. At the same time, the world is facing a continuous population increase and the significant industrialization of developing countries such as China and India with associated enormous energy demand increases. This global energy crisis is the number one technological problem of this century. This energy crisis is a global challenge as well as a very good opportunity for the nuclear engineering community. The continuation of the dominant use of  traditional fossil fuel has significant impact and implication on the global environment such as one of the most important and practical technological solutions to provide a sustainable energy source for the coming centuries and mitigate the energy crisis and environmental problems associated with the extensive use of fossil fuel, particularly, coal. Recent developments and expected trends in this field may be called a "Renaissance of Nuclear Engineering." Manpower needs have significantly increased in the past decade. We have seen significant construction plans in China, England, France, Finland, India, Japan, U.S.A. and others. New generation III reactors were designed and will be built with new passive safety systems. One of the most important challenges is the closure of the nuclear fuel cycle and waste management. Current status of the nuclear power and their impact on the nuclear engineering education program are reviewed. Then the future of nuclear power and nuclear engineering is discussed in view of the global energy problem and challenge to our community.

Brief biography:
Mamoru Ishii is the Walter Zinn Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University. He is also serving as the Director of the Institute of Thermal-hydraulics established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at Purdue. He is an international authority of two-phase flow and heat transfer as well as of nuclear reactor safety and accident analyses. His research covers both experimental and model development studies. He has published over 170 journal papers and authored over 280 conference papers, 30 formal Argonne National Laboratory reports and 25 NURE Nuclear Regulatory Commission reports.