NUCLEAR AND RADIOLOGICAL SCIENCES OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE
Abstract
“The Nautilus Program” will be a STEM Education program at the University of California Davis (UCD) McClellan Nuclear Research Center (MNRC) which is located near Sacramento, California. The Director of MNRC proposes to establish The Nautilus Program to inspire, educate, and encourage students (early high school, community college, undergraduate, and graduate) to engage in and pursue STEM related careers, especially in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The Nautilus Program will be a comprehensive education and outreach program to highlight the nuclear sciences and their importance to the US Navy. There are unmet needs to (1) support our national defense by training more students to participate in the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program and impart technical and safety skills in nuclear reactor operators; (2) increase engagement from non-coastal areas in Navy areas of interest. MNRC proposes a cost effective innovative education model where a one-of-a-kind research facility houses an outreach and education program that is capable of performing hands-on activities with a large number of high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students. Efforts related to the establishment of the outreach program and college level curriculum will be optimized by utilizing already existing outreach programs and academic departments at UC Davis. The sustainability and goals of this program is ensured by establishing the programs as a permanent part of the MNRC mission. Once the program is established, it will be largely sustained by MNRC’s long standing commercial radiography program which also supports the US Navy (e.g. the fleet ballistic missile program). The Nautilus Program has two key emphasis areas: >Engage students from early high school through community college. Working with established UC Davis outreach programs, Sacramento area high school science teachers will become familiar with, and encouraged to participate in The Nautilus Program. Teachers that wish to participate will be invited with their class to the facility during the normal academic year for a tour and a hands-on experiment. Students showing an interest in the subject matter will be encouraged to participate in the MNRC summer programs (via UC Davis outreach established programs). These summer programs will have smaller groups and will cover about 10 times the content of the high school programs that take place during the normal academic year. In this model, hands-on experience with a nuclear reactor and interaction with numerous Navy veterans (officers and enlisted) will be the centerpiece of the program. Curriculum for high school students will be based on the recently approved California “Next Generation Science Standards for California Public Schools.” Curriculum for community college students will be similar but more in-depth than the high school curriculum. >Engage and educate college level students in the nuclear and radiological sciences. This will be accomplished by a series of initially two, but ultimately three classes taught at UC Davis; permanent classes that utilizes the MNRC reactor. Curriculum for college level courses will be based on the established and accredited programs at UC Berkeley and Oregon State University. The classes will be available to all undergraduate and graduate students in technical majors. This will include the UC Berkeley Nuclear Engineering program and the NROTC program (e.g. midshipmen who are considering the Navy Nuclear Program). These classes will provide undergraduate students a technical basis in nuclear and radiological sciences sufficient to enter the Navy workforce or continue their education in nuclear/radiological science and later join the Navy workforce. For graduate students, these classes will provide a technical basis in the nuclear and radiological sciences sufficient to pursue cross disciplinary work in fields of Navy interest with the potential to join the Navy workforce.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 25, 2017
- Source ID
- N000141712792
Entities
People
- Wesley D Frey
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, Davis