Ron Hafner with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory lectures for a course in San Ramon, Calif. on packaging and transporting radioactive material.

The class photo for a 2015 course on safety analysis reports for packaging in Pleasanton, Calif.

   A burgeoning relationship between EM and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) is giving new depth and breadth to a program that trains students and nuclear industry professionals in packing and transporting radioactive material. 

   EM for years has been a primary source of safety education in the specialized field of radioactive material packaging, providing training to hundreds of government and industry professionals from the United States and overseas. 

   But in the upcoming spring semester, instruction is being taken to a new level.

   Classes taught by EM trainers and experts from around the world are being offered as part of the UNR curriculum, listed in the university’s graduate course catalog after being approved for accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

   “It’s a new marriage between us but already we’re seeing some dividends,” said EM’s Dr. James Shuler, program manager for the DOE Packaging Certification Program within EM's Office of Packaging and Transportation. He helped establish what’s been dubbed “Packaging University.” 

   The partnership grew from a conversation between Shuler and Dr. Miles Greiner, then acting dean of UNR’s Mechanical Engineering Department, at a 2013 conference of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management. Shuler outlined his vision of a course of study accredited toward a formal certification in nuclear packaging. 

   “As soon as I heard he wanted that, I knew I wanted to do my part,” said Greiner, who has conducted research into nuclear packaging for more than 20 years and whose school runs a thriving College of Engineering.

   “I think there are certain fields that are out there that don’t yet have a formalized educational component,” Greiner said. “People pick up pieces. They might learn it on the job. They might take certain classes. But now we are trying to determine a set of courses (on nuclear materials packaging) that might have both depth and breadth.” 

   EM classes were organized into a program of study that would qualify for accreditation. Intense one-week and two-week classes in varying topics will be held at EM’s Savannah River National Laboratory, and the Lawrence Livermore and Argonne national laboratories, which are part of DOE’s network of national laboratories.  

   For starters, six courses totaling eight credits are being offered through the program, including ones dealing with nuclear transportation security, quality assurance for radioactive material packaging, and management of safety analysis report preparation.

   Other courses being formulated at Sandia and Oak Ridge national laboratories will grow the program to 11 credits. 

   Students can earn formal certification upon successful completion of the program. Those who enroll at UNR can apply the credits towards a graduate degree. For UNR’s part, the school is hopeful students will become exposed to the school’s research into engineering, and incorporate it into their work.

   In addition to valuable instruction, the EM classes offer students exposure to DOE, its varied activities, and what it might offer to those interested in jobs in the complex, or even careers. 

   “One of the neat things about this is you get to go to Oak Ridge, you get to go to Argonne, to Livermore, to Savannah River, and Sandia and meet with some of the top people in the world who are teaching these courses,”  Shuler said. 

   “Not only do you meet other people in that field when you go there but you get to see what is happening on the sites and learn a little bit about that,” he said. “So that by the time you finish you have a pretty good idea about DOE, you understand what DOE is, how it works. So you are not coming in cold, you are coming in ready to rock and roll as a sprinter, not a walker. When people see that, they really comment on it.”