The various project activities CRESP undertakes are designed to attract and train people interested in careers in nuclear waste management. This includes opportunities at undergraduate and graduate degree levels as well as for continuing professional education related to nuclear waste management. Specifically, the Consortium:

• Develops courses and curricula
• Recruits students
• Develops student summer research and internship programs
• Trains students at the Master (MS, MEng), Doctoral (PhD) and postdoctoral levels
• Establishes an early career program
• Provides workshops, seminars and other continuing education opportunities

CRESP Early Career Program

Project Objectives:

This program aims to create a cohort of high-quality graduate students and postdoctoral scholars whose research aligns with CRESP projects and DOE-EM needs. This cohort will have networking opportunities, as well as experiences in the field, to enhance their educational goals and to expose them to career opportunities within the DOE-EM.

Significance/Impact:

The CRESP Early Career Program will create a cohort of high-quality graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who will possess a broad range of educational and professional experience that will align not only with DOE-EM needs but also with the broader needs of the scientific and engineering community. The average person can have 10-12 jobs during their lifetime; thus, even those individuals who hold DOE-EM jobs will likely hold non-DOE jobs at some point. Their DOE experiences can allow them to advocate for DOE, but more importantly, the skills and experiences they gain during their DOE years will benefit the greater society.

Details

Educating the Next Generation of Nuclear-Environmental Engineers and Scientists

Project Objectives:

The goals of this project are to:

• Quantify the current U.S. nuclear-environmental workforce and assess future workforce needs for nuclear-environmental engineers and scientists.
• Identify the most critical types of jobs to be filled to support the nuclear-environmental industry.
• Create an academic roadmap that will guide students through the educational process and motivate them to pursue a certificate or degree in the nuclear-environmental engineering and sciences fields.
• Identify the competencies needed to ensure that students have the required knowledge and skills to succeed in the nuclear-environmental industry and develop a curriculum guide that will allow academic institutions to grow existing educational programs or develop new programs with a specialized focus on nuclear-environmental engineering and science.
• Identify and implement opportunities for collaboration among DOE-EM, CRESP universities, minority-serving institutions, and nongovernmental organizations to develop and advance workforce development initiatives.
• Identify and implement opportunities to generate greater interest among students to pursue employment and educators to support the nuclear-environmental engineering fields

Significance/Impact:

A cadre of skilled engineers and scientists, particularly those who have the knowledge and experience with nuclear technologies, environmental protection, and cleanup requirements and approaches, is essential to support some of our country’s most vital missions, including safely addressing legacy nuclear facilities and wastes, protecting, and safeguarding our national security, and expanding nuclear power generation to fulfill the growing demand for clean and reliable energy. U.S. government agencies and private industry supporting these missions have been informally communicating for the past 20+ years that the U.S. nuclear-environmental workforce is aging and there is no adequate pipeline of educated and trained personnel. Further, the nuclear-environmental workforce is not optimal due to its lack of diversity; therefore, programs will be established that will focus on increasing the workforce pipeline and diversifying representation in the workforce. This project will confirm a growing need to produce the next generation of nuclear-environmental engineers and scientists. The project will identify the reasons for the diminishing workforce and develop educational programs and tools that meet the needs of federal agencies and private industry today and in the future. This project will assist DOE-EM with educating the next generation of engineers and scientists to complete DOE-EM’s vital mission; all field sites and EM Headquarters will benefit.

Performance & Risk Assessment Community of Practice

CRESP will be an active member in the US DOE Performance & Risk Assessment Community of Practice (PRACOP) (https://www.vanderbilt.edu/pracop/), including participation in leadership as co-chair of the PRACOP steering committee.  Craig Benson of CRESP has indicated that he is available to serve as co-chair of the steering committee.  One of the first tasks of the steering committee will be to reinvigorate the PRACOP and to develop a new charter that reflects future needs. CRESP Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will lead and participate in the technical subgroups to address future needs as defined by the PRACOP steering committee and its members. CRESP will also maintain a website for PRACOP in coordination with DOE-EM.

Significance/Impact:

The goal of the Performance and Risk Assessment (P&RA) Community of Practice (CoP) is to foster the exchange of information regarding the preparation of P&RAs across agencies (including those outside DOE-EM) and practitioners; enhance consistency in the preparation of P&RAs; and to develop appropriate peer guidance and/or recommendations for P&RAs such that they are defensible and based on sound science. The P&RA CoP will involve DOE-EM, CRESP, and organizations outside of DOE-EM to develop guidance, recommendations, and peer-reviewed white papers on topics across a broad range of P&RA topics and bring together practitioners and regulators to foster communication.

PRACOP Archive

CRESP Educational Courses and Workshops

• CRESP will conduct workshops for the professional development of EM and site personnel on topics mutually agreed on by DOE and CRESP as opportunities and challenges arise.
• CRESP will also carry out a “Lunch and Learn” presentation for EM and Field Sites on topics requested by EM and field sites. Currently requested topics include:
• Demographics of EJ communities at EM Sites
• Performance of Liners and Caps for Radon Control and Near-surface Disposal
• Predicting Long-term Performance of Grout Wasteforms under Disposal Scenarios
• Regulatory Flexibility under CERCLA for Groundwater Remedies

Archives

Workshops

• Workshop on Risk Assessment and Safety Decision Making Under Uncertainty, September 21-22, 2010
• Performance Assessment Community of Practice (PACOP) Technical Exchange Meeting: Modeling the Performance of Engineered Systems for Closure and Near-Surface Disposal July 13-14, 2009
• Uncertainty in Long-Term Planning Nuclear Waste Management, a Case Study January 7-8, 2008
• Nuclear Integration Project (NIP) Workshop: “The Back-end: Healing the Achilles Heel of the Nuclear Renaissance?” March 3-4, 2008
• Cementitious Materials for Waste Treatment, Disposal, Remediation and Decommissioning Workshop, December 12-14, 2006.
• The Real Obstacle to Site Completion: Credible Post Remediation Sustainable Protection at Contaminated Sites with Residual Waste, January 12-13, 2006
• Can Science Really Foster Better Public Policy Decisions? The Lessons of the CRESP Experience,  April 26, 2000
• Responsive Science: Forging Regulatory Resolution at DOE Sites,  April 12, 1999

Courses

Introduction to Nuclear Chemistry and Fuel Cycle Separations,  July 19-21, 2011

Introduction to Nuclear Chemistry and Fuel Cycle Separations,  December 16-18, 2008

Introduction to Nuclear Fuel Cycle Chemistry,  August 4-6, 2009