I would qualify this by saying that none of the required courses cover how to actually design and construct these structures. The courses are rooted in typical subjects like reactor hydraulics, thermal processes, and nuclear physics and not reactor shields, reinforced concrete for reactor design, site layout, etc. I guess they figure that's all covered in a civil engineering graduate degree.
I'm an engineer and one of things that jumped out at me in this interview was Mr. Kruger's points about his own engineering background and the current absolute dearth of the ability in many places in the world to actually build nuclear power plants.
Mr. Kruger's technical training really impresses me and afterwards, I looked up civil engineering programs with a nuclear power emphasis to see if there are any in the US. I found none, not one, but did find one in Canada. This is astounding!! We no longer have the human capital to properly design, build, and maintain these facilities and structures!! CE programs around the country are rife with sustainablility nonsense and jargon and yet not one, not even the most prestigious CE departments, are attempting to develop engineers who have training in this important subfield and who at least could practice overseas.
The uselessness of the West continues to astound me.
Postscript: I am applying to the tunnel engineering program at Colorado School of Mines as I want to make a lateral shift into that field, particularly on the contractor side of the business. Look at the requirements for that program, they are really rough. Anything in this world worth doing is going to be. This world doesn't turn on bullshit platitudes and fantasies. It turns on sober people doing hard work to produce tangible outcomes that in themselves, actually work.
Best line- “talking to someone in Brussels about energy was like talking to an NPC”
Great convo!
Addendum: here is one US program, at the University of Utah, where nuclear is housed in a civil engineering department.
https://www.civil.utah.edu/graduate-nuclear-engineering/
I would qualify this by saying that none of the required courses cover how to actually design and construct these structures. The courses are rooted in typical subjects like reactor hydraulics, thermal processes, and nuclear physics and not reactor shields, reinforced concrete for reactor design, site layout, etc. I guess they figure that's all covered in a civil engineering graduate degree.
I'm an engineer and one of things that jumped out at me in this interview was Mr. Kruger's points about his own engineering background and the current absolute dearth of the ability in many places in the world to actually build nuclear power plants.
Mr. Kruger's technical training really impresses me and afterwards, I looked up civil engineering programs with a nuclear power emphasis to see if there are any in the US. I found none, not one, but did find one in Canada. This is astounding!! We no longer have the human capital to properly design, build, and maintain these facilities and structures!! CE programs around the country are rife with sustainablility nonsense and jargon and yet not one, not even the most prestigious CE departments, are attempting to develop engineers who have training in this important subfield and who at least could practice overseas.
The uselessness of the West continues to astound me.
Postscript: I am applying to the tunnel engineering program at Colorado School of Mines as I want to make a lateral shift into that field, particularly on the contractor side of the business. Look at the requirements for that program, they are really rough. Anything in this world worth doing is going to be. This world doesn't turn on bullshit platitudes and fantasies. It turns on sober people doing hard work to produce tangible outcomes that in themselves, actually work.