Course objectives
- Learn about nuclear news in the world
- Relate ethics to nuclear engineering and nuclear energy in the local and global communities
- Learn how to engage an audience in a discussion about ethics
- Engage in discussion with the nuclear engineering senior design teams
- Understand the engineering design process as it pertains to nuclear nuclear technology.
- Obtain insight on how you can customize your undergraduate education at UW to shape and to fit your career interests.
Non-Graded Assignments
Graded Assignments
- Weekly personal reflections
- One nuclear in the news assignment
- One interview assignment
- Final reflection
A passing grade requires 60% minimum on each assignment.
Class format
Class will meet on Mondays 1-2pm. First half of the time will be a student-led nuclear in the news discussion. The second half will be an instructor-led discussion on a nuclear-engineering topic.
Wed 1-2pm is open work time, in the company of the instructor and the senior design class. The total expected work load of the class is 2 hours per week, including class time and assignments.
Note: If you wish to engage with the senior design teams more than would be within the scope of a one-unit class, ask the instructor about the option to sign up for 1-3 units of independent study credit. As you get to know the design teams, there may be opportunities for contributing to their projects. Some examples could include 3-D drawing, prototyping in the maker space, record keeping.
Slack
Use slack to reach me, your colleagues in the class, and the seniors students. You can ask questions, answer questions, share interesting resources, and send direct messages to me or anyone in the class.
Edublogs
You have to create a blog to which you will post all of your assignments for this course. The purpose of submitting your assignments online is to share what you learn with everybody else in rest of the world that’s interested in learning about nuclear engineering.
You are welcome to post to this blog any other interesting material or resources that you wish, in order to make it a more comprehensive and useful website. Consider this blog as your student portfolio. It is something you can showcase and share with your friends, potential employees, colleagues. The blog remains yours and you can continue to develop after the end of the semester.
Academic integrity
The honor system applies for all work and activities related to this class, and academic integrity is expected. Please refer to The Academic Integrity Statement of UW-Madison Division of Student Life.
Diversity and Inclusion
Please do your part in creating a productive learning environment for yourself and for everyone in the class. Pay attention, take initiative, speak up, don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
Schedule
12 topics (tentative)
- Lec 1 – Nuclear Fuel Cycle
- Lec 2 – Nuclear Accidents
- Lec 3 – Nuclear Weapons
- Lec 4 – Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Lec 5 – Current Domestic Nuclear Politics and Nuclear Grassroots Activism
- Lec 6 – Energy Markets
- Lec 7 – Nuclear Smuggling
- Reactor Tour on March 19
- Molten Salt Reactor Experiment
- Lec 9 – International Safeguards
- Is Nuclear Renewable/Sustainable Energy?
- Lec 11 – Medical Isotopes
Blogs