The institute will offer an intensive, four week course of study during July and August of 2011. It's intended for undergraduates from outside of UT-Austin who are pursuing a degree in a discipline other than nuclear engineering (NE) as well as those who are working toward NE degrees at schools without a research reactor.

The paramount aim of the institute is to make you an attractive job candidate for industrial and regulatory employers in nuclear-related fields. These companies and governmental agencies will continue to require many new staff whose areas of expertise lie outside of nuclear engineering (mechanical, electrical, and civil engineers and physicists especially), but job candidates who have a background in the basics of nuclear engineering as well are especially well-positioned. It's also great preparation for graduate school in a nuclear-related field.

From an academic standpoint, we aim to impart the practical skills you will need when working in proximity to a nuclear reactor or in an environment where radiological hazards are present. The 1.1 Megawatt JJ Pickle TRIGA reactor at UT-Austin therefore plays a central role in the Institute curriculum, as will the health physics instrumentation maintained at the UT-Austin Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory. The strong practical and experimental component of the Institute curriculum is complemented by classroom lectures providing a sound grounding in the fundamentals of health physics, nuclear reactor physics and nuclear systems engineering.

Four mini-courses will be taught during the four-week Institute: health physics (radiation effects on biological systems), nuclear reactor engineering, nuclear reactor physics, and reactor laboratory. To find out more about what you'll learn, please follow the curriculum link.

Each enrollee will receive room and board in a campus dormitory. In addition, enrollees will be paid a stipend of $1000 and textbook allowance of $200. Finally, the students will be reimbursed for travel expenses of up to $500. As an institute student, you would be enrolled UT-Austin course. The course will be accredited by the Mechanical Engineering Department and Cockrell School of Engineering; it will be worth six university credits that you can transfer back to your school.

The Institute will enroll sixteen students and the application process will be competitive. To learn more about whether you meet the criteria to apply – for example, the Institute is open to students who are currently sophomores, juniors or seniors in engineering, physics or chemistry programs – follow the link to Administrative Information.