Our Mission
Outcomes of this project include bachelors, masters, doctoral, and postdoctoral trainees from science, engineering, and business that have interests and skills related to Department of Energy Environmental Management (DOE-EM) target areas and that have existing relationships with researchers and DOE-EM personnel. These trainees and participating faculty will bring their personal networks, research and teaching capabilities, and insights and ideas from the research to future DOE-EM recruitment, training, and research efforts. The location of the project in the Southwest Nuclear Corridor will enable people who, historically, have been surrounded by the impacts (both positive and negative) of the nuclear industry to take active roles in that industry’s direction, decision-making, and progress.
The NuChemE Pipeline aims to expand the size and diversity of the available workforce with skills to manage radioactive tank waste through capacity building, interdisciplinary training, and hands-on experiences. The long-term goal is to develop a new interdisciplinary graduate certificate at New Mexico State University that can be completed remotely by students from science, engineering, and business backgrounds to enhance their knowledge and experience in Department of Energy Environmental Management-needed areas.
The program will expand capabilities for “f-element” (rare earth/lanthanide and actinide) chemistry and analysis to support teaching and research at three Minority Serving Institutions: New Mexico State University (NMSU), University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). The program will build on the nuclear chemical engineering minor at NMSU to reach beyond undergraduate engineering majors to include science, business and graduate students. The program will focus on familiarity with all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, including radioactive waste management, chemistry process modeling, and supply chain evaluation. The impact of this training will be increased through student and faculty visits to nuclear-relevant facilities (general, disposal, historical) around the Southwest and Savannah River Site (SRS). A new summer program in nuclear chemical engineering and f-element chemistry will provide complementary training for science and engineering students recruited from other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).