Oak Ridge Contractor Expands Successful University Collaboration

From left, University of Tennessee Vice Chancellor for Research Deborah Crawford; United Cleanup Oak Ridge President and CEO Ken Rueter; and Tickle College of Engineering Dean Matthew Mench are pictured at the signing ceremony for an expanded partnership to provide unique learning opportunities for nuclear safety specialists supporting the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management mission.

Partnership underpins ‘Cleanup Today for a Nuclear Tomorrow’ initiative supporting $12 billion in next-generation nuclear investments at Oak Ridge

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) cleanup contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) recently expanded a university partnership to provide unique learning opportunities for nuclear safety specialists supporting the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) mission.

UCOR has partnered with local colleges and universities for more than a decade to help educate and train the next generation of workers. This workforce development effort is helping OREM continue its record-setting pace of cleanup momentum.

The company’s long-standing partnership with the University of Tennessee (UT) has led to many successes over that span, including the launch of the nation’s first nuclear decommissioning and environmental management minor degree.

This month, UCOR and UT signed an updated memorandum of understanding (MOU) that increases the scope of the original agreement to address critical needs for the current cleanup workforce.

University of Tennessee Tennessee Valley Authority Nuclear Engineering Department Chair Brian Wirth, center, met with the United Cleanup Oak Ridge team after the signing ceremony to discuss the new minor degree in nuclear criticality safety, among other activities.

During a campus visit for the MOU signing, UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter gave a graduate colloquium presentation and met with nuclear engineering students and faculty.

“I enjoyed sharing how UT has been an essential partner in our ‘Cleanup Today for a Nuclear Tomorrow’ initiative to enable federal land transfers for the $12 billion in next-generation nuclear investments and thousands of jobs coming to Oak Ridge, and now we’re kicking off our second decade of enabling rewarding nuclear careers in the Oak Ridge Corridor,” said Rueter.

The renewed agreement develops training and educational opportunities that benefit UT students and the UCOR workforce executing OREM projects. It also supports the development and expansion of a new nuclear safety minor degree focused on EM cleanup and operations.

“Most nuclear engineering curricula focus on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission system rather than the regulatory frameworks specific to DOE facilities,” explained Jay Mullis, UCOR chief nuclear officer. “To address this gap, UCOR and UT will collaborate to offer a DOE-focused nuclear and criticality safety program that will benefit the entire DOE complex.”

United Cleanup Oak Ridge President and CEO Ken Rueter, pictured at the podium, gave a graduate colloquium presentation, “Cleanup Today for a Nuclear Tomorrow,” and met with University of Tennessee nuclear engineering students and faculty.

The new program is designed for the next generation of workers pursuing careers in the nuclear field, including work on aging reactors and nuclear facilities around the nation.

The minor degree complements a nuclear engineering degree by providing additional coursework and training in regulations and policy, safety analysis and hazard control, safety strategies for aging facility conditions, and deactivation and demolition. The goal is to help add to the number of qualified candidates for cleanup work at Oak Ridge and other sites in the EM complex.

Since 2022, UCOR has hosted more than 70 interns from UT, with many joining the workforce full time after graduation.

UCOR’s continued partnership will provide students with hands-on experience and career opportunities, including internships, collaborations on research projects, subject matter experts serving on college and university advisory boards, and mentors for senior design projects. These efforts help ensure curricula align with work currently being performed on DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation.

-Contributor: Shannon Potter