Short Programs
Nuclear Plant Safety
Date: June 10-14, 2013 | Tuition: $3,300 | Continuing Education Units (CEUs): 2.9
Application Deadline »
Course Summary |
Learning Objectives |
Who Should Attend |
Course Schedule |
Participants' Comments |
About the Instructors |
Location |
Links & Resources |
Updates
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Course Summary
The reactor safety course (MIT’s longest running summer program) was revamped, shortened, and renamed in 2005 into this one-week course on safety and regulatory issues of operating and planned reactors in the US and other countries. Emphasis will be on new developments such as:
- New reactor safety and licensing
- International perspectives on safety
- Risk-informed operations
- Causes of plant outages
- High performance fuel
- Spent fuel storage management
- Emergency planning - course sessions that focus on learning from the Fukushima experience - see Course Schedule for details
A review of recent developments focusing on safety issues in the near-term deployment of new plants, the Generation-IV nuclear system program, and the advanced fuel cycle initiative will be among the topics of discussion. There will be a panel discussion at the end of each day comprised of that day’s lecturers to answer questions.


Latest Developments: Recent advances and future trends (50%)
Industry Applications: Linking theory and real-world (50%)


Lecture: Delivery of material in a lecture format (80%)
Discussion or Groupwork: Participatory learning (20%)


Introductory: Appropriate for a general audience (40%)
Specialized: Assumes experience in practice area or field (40%)
Advanced: In-depth explorations at the graduate level (20%)
Learning Objectives
- Describe the safety and regulatory issues of operating nuclear reactors in the U.S. and other countries.
- Assess new developments in nuclear plant safety, such as power uprates, risk-informed operations, and high performance fuel.
- Examine advanced reactors, and their safety characteristics.
- Describe the issues of fuel storage and licensing of spent fuel repository.
Who Should Attend
The Nuclear Plant Safety course is intended for degree holding engineers and scientists who have some knowledge of nuclear facility technology and who are or will be participating directly in the design, construction, operation, or regulatory safety review of large nuclear installations such as power reactors. It will be of particular interest to technically trained representatives of the electrical power utility industry, Department of Energy facilities, reactor or reactor component fabricators, safety evaluators, and other technically trained personnel interested in obtaining an overall view of reactor safety.
Course schedule, registration times, special events
Class runs 8:30 am - 4:15 pm each day except for Friday when it runs 8:30 am - 3:15 pm.
Registration is on Monday morning from 7:45 - 8:15 am.
Special events include a reception on Monday, a tour of the Plasma Science & Fusion Center on Tuesday, a tour of the MIT Reactor on Wednesday, and a dinner on Thursday. Please note that participants must have their passport or other government issued ID with them for the MIT Reactor tour. All evening activities are included in tuition.
Participants' Comments
Senior Reactor Engineer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
"It’s a unique opportunity to hear from industry, academic, and government experts on aspects of plant safety, regulation, and design - plus authoritative accounts of current technical and regulatory issues."
Senior Reactor Operations Engineer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
"My experience at the MIT Nuclear Safety Systems course was great. The topics were very interesting and taught by leaders in their respective fields. The most beneficial aspect of the course was the expert panels that stimulated open and frank discussions on the daily topics."
Deputy Manager Office of Nuclear Safety, Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB
"It was a great experience to participate in the program. The experience was enhanced by the fact that the speakers were prominent persons with real insight in the ongoing activities in the business."
About the Instructors
This program is under the directorship of:
Mujid Kazimi, MIT TEPCO Professor of Nuclear Engineering; Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Director of the Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems (CANES)
Neil Todreas, MIT KEPCO Professor of Nuclear Engineering; Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Emeritus).
The instructors are among the most knowledgeable experts in nuclear technology, and are closely associated with current reactor and/or fuel facility safety issues. They are prominent authorities from industry, government and universities, and can provide authoritative answers in their technical fields. Lecturers will provide their own viewpoints and will not necessarily present the official views of any group with which they may be associated.
Location
The course is held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT is a leader in education and research in all aspects of nuclear engineering. Program capacity is limited.
Links & Resources
- Mujid Kazimi, of nuclear science and engineering, wins Kuwait Prize
Honored for contributions to nuclear power technology - Five MIT engineers named to National Academy of Engineering - MIT News article highlights MIT researchers, including Mujid Kazimi.
Updates
There are no updates at this time.

