Development of a graduate curriculum in nuclear and radiochemistry and the research interactions with US Department of Energy national laboratories

Abstract

In the past few years there has been renewed worldwide interest in the re-establishment of various nuclear and radiochemistry disciplines in the hope of training the next generation of skilled researchers in this area. In the United States there continues to be an acute shortage of MSc and PhD level trained students, particularly at the Department of Energy national laboratories. As a result of this critical need the Department of Energy established a Radiochemistry Education Award Program (REAP) in the late 1990's to address this issue. Several universities were awarded funding to establish various complimentary programs. One of the main goals of the REAP at the University of Texas was to establish a web-based graduate level course with associated labs and to have interactions with the national laboratories.