Greetings from Dr. Seungjin Kim Capt. James F. McCarthy, Jr. and Cheryl E. McCarthy Head
As we welcome everyone back to another exciting year of Purdue Nuclear Engineering, I feel greatly honored to reach out to you as a new Head of the School of Nuclear Engineering. I am humbled to serve such a prestigious program with rich history and a legacy of impeccable excellence in both education and research. While I am so grateful for what we've accomplished in the past, I look forward to continuing our legacy in the days ahead of us.
This year, we have a total of 127 students enrolled in Nuclear Engineering, among which 80 are undergraduate students and 47 are graduate students. It is great to see more than 20% of our student population is comprised of female students in both undergraduate and graduate programs.
Our students continue to excel in both education and research as can be found in the featured stories. Some of our graduate students are recognized by prestigious awards such as DOE’s Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards and Directed Energy Professional Society Graduate Scholarship Award. Our undergraduate research hasn’t slowed down over the summer. Five Nuclear Engineering undergraduate students participated in Purdue’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program, and many more in internship programs with various industry partners.
Among many outstanding research activities led by our faculty members, Dr. Hany Abdel-Khalik (Associate Professor) and Dr. Robert Bean (Assistant Professor) were recently selected by the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) and The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), respectively, as outlined in the featured stories. Dr. Janelle Wharry who joined us in Fall 2016 continues to excel, and her research is also featured in this newsletter.
In addition to the many accomplishments of our faculty, we are excited to build upon these with the announcement of our faculty search. We hope that with these new openings we are able to further strengthen our school.
It is exciting to see Purdue's Reactor Number One (PUR-1) become more innovative! In August this year, a License Amendment Request to upgrade PUR-1’s instrumentation and controls (I&C) to a fully digitized system was accepted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. When completed, PUR-1 will be the first and the only reactor in the nation with full digital I&C capability. This enables innovative research and next-generation teaching capabilities, including the capability to view tests and retrieve data from any remote location around the globe.
In Alumni news, we are featuring Capt. James F. McCarthy Jr. (BSNE ’79). In August, the Purdue University Board of Trustees approved the named Nuclear Engineering Headship, which was made possible by a generous gift from Jim. I am deeply humbled to be the first Head to be named as the Capt. James F. McCarthy, Jr., and Cheryl E. McCarthy Head of the School of Nuclear Engineering. We sincerely thank Jim and other alumni for their kind supports for the School and look forward to a strong partnership with our alumni community.
As part of efforts of strengthening our relationship with alumni and friends, we are hosting the “Alumni & Friends Reception” during the 2017 ANS Winter Meeting in Washington D.C. as can be found in the invitation card below. I urge you to please us to celebrate Purdue Nuclear Engineering. Please make sure that you Stay connected with our School website https://engineering.purdue.edu/NE as more exciting news is on the way!
Boiler up!
Seungjin Kim
Capt. James F. McCarthy, Jr., and Cheryl E. McCarthy
Head of the School of Nuclear Engineering
Email: seungjin@purdue.edu
