Volume 6, Number 2
December 2008

Nuclear, eh?
A Report on the World Nuclear University Summer Institute
By Karen Miller
INMM Student Member

I arrived at Ottawa International Airport at 4:17p.m. on Saturday, July 5. After shuffling my way through customs, I was ushered to a group of weary-looking travelers. Making the rounds of introductions, I learned the group consisted of a Swede, two Brits, and another American. As we were getting on the hotel shuttle, a man in a business suit walked up and started talking to me. He seemed to be speaking English, but the only word I understood was “Bangladesh.” I smiled and nodded.

So began the adventure I had anxiously awaited for the past six months: the 2008 World Nuclear University Summer Institute (WNU-SI). The World Nuclear University is a global partnership committed to enhancing international education and leadership in the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology. The central partners include the World Nuclear Association (WNA), the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA).

The Summer Institute began as an experiment in 2005 in Idaho Falls and has since been held in Sweden, South Korea and Canada. It is an intensive, six-week program that brings together 100 of the top young professionals in the nuclear industry from around the world. The schedule includes lectures by the industry’s foremost authorities, group work in multinational teams, practice in giving presentations, a week of technical tours, and countless opportunities for cultural exchange.

Day one of lectures started out with a jolting reality check I like to call “Schock and Awe.” Robert Schock from the World Energy Council and Ambassador John Ritch, director general of the WNA, presented the staggering outlook of global energy supply and demand for the next 50 years. They talked about the unprecedented levels of international cooperation and integration that will be needed for sustainable development. In his opening remarks, Ambassador Ritch asked the question, or perhaps laid out the challenge, “Can we develop leadership to inspire and guide a global clean-energy revolution?”

The weeks that followed brought a torrent of distinguished speakers on topics as diverse as the participants’ backgrounds. They covered areas such as next-generation reactors, the fuel cycle, public communication, nuclear law, the economics of new build, nonproliferation and safeguards, and the role of the regulator.

Every afternoon, we broke into 10-person working groups to discuss the lectures. I found this to be the heart of the program and where I learned the most. For example, coming from a research background, I learned to appreciate the business side of the industry. One afternoon, my working group was discussing the feasibility of international fuel cycle facilities. I was surprised to hear one of my European colleagues spurn the idea. What I had failed to recognize is the very legitimate concern commercial vendors have about how it will affect their markets. Interactions like this one gave me new perspectives on the context of my own work.

I also had the opportunity to get to know people from countries I don’t often encounter. The U.S.-India nuclear deal was the topic of one of the lectures. Following the talk, I made it a point to find one of the Pakistani participants and talk to him about his opinion on the deal, which is not a viewpoint I had ever heard firsthand.

During a presentation on how to assist developing countries in building nuclear programs, I listened to my Bangladeshi friend I met on the first day along with two others from Namibia and Nigeria stand up and talk with great pride about the potential they see in their countries. They spoke about the poverty they had seen at home and their desire for clean, dependable energy to help their countries grow. I can easily say I have a much deeper understanding of these issues than I would have sitting alone in my cubicle and reading about them online.

Throughout the six weeks, there was a lot of discussion about creating some sort of product. My feelings on this fall in line with something a professor from Brazil said in one of our working group sessions. She said that we were the product. She described the Summer Institute as a seed and said it was up to us all to make sure it grows. I am happy to report that I had my first WNU reunion while I was in Tokyo for the recent Joint INMM/ESARDA Workshop. With some initiative on the part of the WNU participants, I think Ambassador Ritch’s vision of a global network of professionals cooperating to meet the energy challenges of the coming decades can be achieved.

The 2009 World Nuclear University Summer Institute will be held at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. I found the WNU-SI to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life both personally and professionally, and I strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to apply. I also want to encourage organizations to consider funding young professionals to participate in the program. My tuition for the WNU-SI was paid for by the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute at Texas A&M University.

Karen Miller is a student member of INMM and Texas A&M student closing in on her Ph.D. Miller is working at Los Alamos National Laboratory.