Grad Profiles - University of Florida Nuclear Engineering

Overview
A combined state university, land-grant college, and AAU member, the University of Florida has thirteen upper-division colleges plus the Colleges of Law, Dentistry, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine. The College of Engineering consists of twelve degree-granting departments and has more than 281 full-time faculty members.

More than 44,000 students, including about 12,000 graduate and professional students, are currently enrolled in the University. In the College of Engineering, there are approximately 5,179 undergraduate students, 1,278 graduate students on campus and 323 graduate students off campus. In the Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, there were 46 graduate students in fall 2001.

The Community
The University of Florida is located in Gainesville, a city of about 110,000 in north-central Florida, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, each within about a 1-hour drive. The University golf course is next to the campus; there are opportunities for swimming and boating at nearby lakes and rivers. Gainesville is served by several major airlines and bus systems and is on I-75 and only an hour from I-10.

Programs of study and degree requirements
Chartered in 1957, the Department offers diversified programs across the nuclear field leading to the Master of Science, Master of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy degrees, with emphasis in engineering physics, health physics, medical physics, and nuclear engineering. Students enter the graduate program from a variety of undergraduate disciplines, including all areas of engineering, as well as the applied sciences, physics, chemistry, and mathematics. An ABET-accredited bachelor's degree in engineering or the equivalent is a prerequisite for the Master of Engineering degree; recipients of other undergraduate degrees are awarded a Master of Science. The minimum graduate school requirement for a master's degree program is either 30 semester hours of course work (6 of which can represent work on a thesis) and the completion of a thesis or 32 semester hours of course work and a project with a written report but no thesis. The Ph.D. degree requires 90 credits beyond the bachelor's degree; 30 semester hours in one calendar year or 36 semester hours in no more than four semesters within a period of two years must be earned on the Gainesville campus beyond the master's degree.

Research in nuclear engineering includes most of the traditional areas associated with reactor design, operation, and safety but is expanded to nuclear space power and the rest of the nuclear fuel cycle. The 100-kW University of Florida training reactor is available for teaching and research. Research and course topics include reactor dynamics, transport theory, interaction of radiation with matter, reactor modeling, development of new nuclear fuel designs and materials, reactor safety, waste management, and nuclear power plant operation and maintenance, including robotics, computer graphics, and expert systems applications. The department is also conducting research on innovative space nuclear power systems under the auspices of the Innovative Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Institute (INSPI), which is headquartered at the University of Florida. Educational activities are carried out with the nuclear reactor operations of Florida Power and Light Company and Florida Power Corporation.

Health physics and medical physics research includes radiation measurements and protection, diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radiation and radioisotopes, measurement of radioactivity levels in the environment and in biological systems, and trace-element identification using neutron activation analysis. A medical physics program is maintained jointly with the University of Florida Medical Center's Departments of Radiology and Radiation Oncology.

Research in engineering physics is primarily in areas relevant to the generation, detection, usage, and field analysis of radiation. Specific projects include image formation using scattered and characteristic X-ray emission, development of food irradiation schemes and generators, and research in the response to radiation of electronic components, especially components for automated operation of robots and sensors.

Facilities & Resources
Department facilities include a 100-kW Argonaut reactor with activation analysis laboratory facilities and neutron radiograph capability, multiple Silicon Graphics computers with many video and graphics terminals and lab data inputs, several UNIX computers, a large computer-based multichannel analyzer, a neutron radiograph imaging laboratory, a computer-tomography scanner, a chair whole-body counter, and a nondestructive testing laboratory. Additional clinical and research equipment utilizing radiation and radioactivity is available in the medical center and includes a digital vascular imaging system and a nuclear magnetic resonance scanning system.

Multicultural Students
Student, faculty and staff diversity is a key, integral factor in graduate education at the University of Florida. The UF Office of Graduate Minority Programs, along with other agencies on campus, exists to nurture, enhance and expand it, fostering an equitable, hospitable and inclusive educational environment where people of all backgrounds, ages and life experiences can achieve their personal and professional best through higher learning, teaching and research. Read more..

International Students
International applicants whose native language is not English must also supply TOEFL scores. UF International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS), part of UF Academic Affairs, helps the campus community with immigration matters and provides services to international students, scholars and their dependents: admission, orientation, academic and personal counseling, emergency assistance, community relations and student activities.

Expenses and Aid/ Scholarships
Costs: In 2006–07, full-time graduate tuition (plus fees) was $284 per credit for Florida residents and $914 per credit for out-of-state residents. Part-time tuition and fees were proportionately less.

Financial Aid: Financial assistance is available in the form of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. Department assistantships generally provided stipends of $10,000 to $12,000 per year and a tuition waiver, and research assistantships provided stipends of $12,000 and up for a calendar year plus a tuition waiver. Fellowships carried stipends of $17,000 and up and generally included a supplemental grant for tuition, fees, and limited travel. The department is eligible for national fellowships, such as the U.S. Department of Energy fellowships for nuclear engineering, health physics, and waste management and the nuclear industry fellowships from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, which offers a stipend plus tuition and fees. The University of Florida (UF) is one of only twelve schools eligible for the Department of Energy Health Physics Fellowship Program. UF graduate council fellowships, as well as fellowships for women and other minorities entering nontraditional careers, are available with stipends of up to $17,000 for twelve months (for first-time graduate students only).

Housing/Living Expenses: The University provides a variety of living accommodations. An air-conditioned double room for two students is the most common and costs $1218 per person per semester. Air-conditioned dormitory rooms range in price from $975 to $1814 per person per semester. Housing accommodations for single graduate or professional students in Diamond Apartment Village begin at $281 per person per month for an air-conditioned, one-bedroom apartment. The Apartment Resident Facility features apartments with four single bedrooms and two baths at $1598 per person per semester. This facility is restricted to juniors, seniors, and graduate students. The University also operates five apartment villages for student-family housing. In addition to on-campus housing, there are numerous apartment complexes and other rental facilities available to students. At present, a one-bedroom, unfurnished apartment rents for about $450 per month. Utilities are not included.

How to Apply/Application/ International Students
Students may apply at any time and enroll for any semester. Applicants for fall admission who desire financial aid should submit applications, transcripts, and GRE General Test scores by February 1.

Who to Contact
Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida 32611
Telephone: 352-392-1401
E-mail: dept-adm@nuceng.ufl.edu
http://www.nuceng.ufl.edu/

The Faculty And Their Research
Professors

Samim Anghaie, Ph.D., Penn State, 1982. Nuclear reactor design, nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics, single and multiphase flow and heat transfer, applied particle transport, space power applications.
G. Ronald Dalton, Ph.D., Michigan, 1960. Transport theory, numerical analysis, reactor analysis, computer graphics.
Alex E. S. Green, Graduate Research Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering Sciences and Physics; Director, Interdisciplinary Center for Aeronomy and Other Atmospheric Sciences (ICAAS); Ph.D., Cincinnati, 1948. Radiological, atmospheric, nuclear, and atomic physics; coal combustion.
Alan M. Jacobs, Ph.D., Penn State, 1963. Mathematical analyses and diagnostic application of radiation transport in matter, especially in nuclear reactor systems; medical and industrial radiographic imaging.
M. J. Ohanlan, Interim Dean; Ph.D., Rensselaer, 1963. Nuclear energy systems, energy and public policy, the role of research and development in regional economic development.
Glen J. Schoessow, Professor Emeritus; M.S.M.E., Purdue, 1933. Reactor design, operation and safety, heat transfer and fluid flow, high-temperature materials.
James S. Tulenko, Chairman; M.S., MIT, 1963; M.S. Harvard, 1960. Nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear waste management, radiation engineering, mobile robotics, engineering physics, nuclear reactor design and operation.

Associate Professors

Wesley E. Bolch, Ph.D., Florida, 1988. Health physics, nuclear medicine, radiation effects.
Edward T. Dugan, Ph.D., Florida, 1976. Radiation and particle transport and Monte Carlo techniques, radiographic imaging, reactor analysis and reactor dynamics and control, space nuclear power.
William H. Ellis, Associate Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Florida State, 1963. Activation analysis, radiation and radioisotope applications, nuclear spectrometry and instrumentation, plasma kinetics, fission and fusion systematics.
David Gilland, Ph.D., North Carolina, 1989. Medical physics, diagnostic medical imaging, nuclear medicine, medical image processing, single photon emission-computed tomography, positron emission tomography.
David E. Hintenlang, Ph.D., Brown, 1985. Health physics, medical physics, nonionizing and ionizing radiation effects in biological and electronic systems.
William G. Vernetson, Director, Nuclear Facilities; Ph.D., Florida, 1979. Reactor safety and technology, reactor operations and operator training, reactor systems design and probabilistic risk assessment, neutron activation analysis, health physics.

Affiliate (Part-Time) Faculty