Kansas State University inviting Native American students to explore opportunities in nuclear engineering
Thursday, May 1, 2014
MANHATTAN — The Kansas State University chapter of the American Nuclear Society is hosting Native American high school and college students from across Kansas in an event to help them learn more about careers in nuclear engineering.
The event, Friday, May 9, is sponsored and co-hosted by AREVA Inc., a world leader in nuclear power. Activities get underway at 10 a.m. in Room 227 at the K-State Student Union.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of nuclear engineers employed in the United States in 2013 was 16,400.
"Currently many nuclear engineers are at or are approaching retirement age, leading to a demand for younger workers," said Jeff Geuther, the university’s research nuclear reactor facilities manager. "The high demand also results in nuclear engineering being a rather lucrative field."
The mean annual wage for a nuclear engineer is $106,860.
The event will focus on what nuclear engineering is like as a career path and a course of study. Students will get the chance to tour the Kansas State University research nuclear reactor facility and perform experiments using radioactive materials produced with the reactor.
AREVA Inc. is providing the funding to the Kansas State chapter of the American Nuclear Society to host the event and is also assisting with coordination. Guest speakers at the event include Michael McMahon, the senior vice president of AREVA TN, and Chris Howell, executive director of the Kansas Native American Affairs Office.
"We are proud to collaborate with Kansas State University in support of a program to introduce Native American students to nuclear science, nuclear energy and career opportunities in our industry," McMahon said. "As a forward-looking energy company, we recognize the importance of engaging and supporting greater awareness and understanding of critical clean air energy generation technologies like nuclear power."
"It is an excellent opportunity for the university to connect with quality students at regional high schools and colleges, and for those students to learn more about the challenging but rewarding field of nuclear engineering," Geuther said.
More information on AREVA is available at http://us.areva.com.
