This page describes NP 640 - Nuclear Packaging Projects, which is a three-unit, mentored project course conducted at a professional’s workplace. It may be used as an elective for the Nuclear Packaging Graduate Program (NPGP).
Course description:
The student will develop and demonstrate the ability to plan, conduct, troubleshoot and report on a nuclear packaging-related project at their worksite. They will develop and demonstrate skills and competencies in the field. Projects may be conducted at any national laboratory, government agency or industry site that conducts nuclear packaging or related work. The worksite organization must complete a set of agreements with the University of Nevada, Reno (available from EngineeringCareers@unr.edu), and identify one or more site supervisors who agree to oversee the project. All work will be conducted under the mentorship of the site supervisor(s) and one or more University of Nevada, Reno faculty members.
In photo: NPGP faculty Miles Greiner and Mustafa Hadj-Nacer with a student.
Project work:
After the organizational agreements are finalized, the student will work with their site supervisor to write and submit a project proposal that describes the project goals, work plan, needed resources and timeline. The project should require 135 to 270 hours of student involvement. Approximately halfway through the project, the student will submit a midterm report that describes results to date, and any revisions to the project goals, work plan, resources and timeline. At the end of the project, the student will submit a final report that describes the project results, lessons learned, conclusions and proposed future work.
Recommended participants:
Early or mid-career professionals and paid interns who want to enter or advance in nuclear packaging and related careers.
Course outcomes:
Develop nuclear packaging and related competencies and project skills under the mentorship of experienced managers.
Instructors:
The organization will identify a site supervisor who is experienced in nuclear packaging or related competencies and project management. The supervisor must be committed to mentoring and supervising the student and to working with the University of Nevada, Reno faculty member(s) to assess student performance. Research Assistant Professor Mustafa Hadj-Nacer (Ph.D., Aix-Marseille University in France) and/or Professor Miles Greiner (Ph.D., MIT) are the principal educators of the NPGP. They will serve as the University of Nevada, Reno faculty supervisors.
Testimonial:
“Participating in the Nuclear Packaging Project course was an excellent opportunity to apply my experience and theoretical knowledge to important projects with real world impact. Through this course, I worked on two key documents intended for submission to the appropriate regulatory agency. The project provided great insight into what is required to develop and guide these documents through the review and approval process. In addition, my experience afforded me the opportunity to meet and interface with nuclear packaging engineers and regulators. Overall, it has been a great opportunity to improve my knowledge in nuclear packaging while networking with experienced professionals in the industry. I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in a career in nuclear packaging.”
— Brandon Kendrick, nuclear facility safety engineer, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
For more information, contact mhadjnacer@unr.edu or (775) 682-7480.