Nuclear engineering is concerned with the science of nuclear processes
and their application to the development of various technologies.
Nuclear processes are fundamental in the medical diagnosis and treatment
fields, and in basic and applied research concerning accelerator,
laser and superconducting magnetic systems. Utilization of nuclear
fission energy for the production of electricity is the current major
commercial application, and radioactive thermal generators power a
number of spacecraft. For the longer term, electricity production
based on nuclear fusion is expected to become an increasingly important
segment of the field.
Nuclear engineers are therefore concerned with
maintaining expertise in the design and development of advanced
fission reactors, performing basic and applied research in the development
and ultimate commercialization of fusion energy, developing both
institutional and technical options for radioactive waste and nuclear
materials management, and in fostering research in nuclear science
and applications, with emphasis on bioengineering, detection and
instrumentation and environmental science. The professional field,
although highly interdisciplinary, is unified via a professional
society, the American Nuclear Society. Back to Top |
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