DATE: October 09, 2007
CONTACT:
Susan Polowczuk, (864) 656-2063
spolowc@clemson.edu
WRITER:
Tim DeVol, (864) 656-1014
devol@clemson.edu
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission awards grant to Clemson program
CLEMSON –– With a goal of understanding and protecting the public and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has awarded a $169,000 grant to upgrade teaching equipment for the Nuclear Environmental Engineering and Science (NEES) program at Clemson.
The graduate program focuses on the environmental aspects of nuclear technologies, including environmental health physics, radioactive waste processing, environmental risk assessment, environmental radioactivity, radiation detection and measurement, environmental radiochemistry and environmental remediation.
“This award will go toward updating much-needed radiation detection and measurement equipment for the teaching laboratories in the NEES program,” said Tim DeVol, professor of environmental engineering and earth sciences. “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C., has benefited from our program; currently 12 of our alumni work there. Expanding our laboratory courses and providing students with hands-on experience with the latest equipment will keep them at the cutting edge of technology but with a fundamental understanding of the underlying principles.”
The grant will be used to upgrade digital data acquisition systems, replace instrument modules with state-of-the-art electronic design, introduce state-of-the-art detectors into the laboratory, increase the number of laboratory workstations so courses can be offered to more students and conduct maintenance on existing detection systems.
NEES is a graduate student-only academic program established in the 1980s within the department of environmental engineering and earth sciences at Clemson. It is a combination of classroom and laboratory instruction and research. Environmental health physics or environmental radiochemistry are the two tracks an NEES student can follow. For more information, go to: http://www.ces.clemson.edu/eees/programareas.htm