About the Department
Welcome to the Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering, where we embrace our history as we create the future of nuclear technology.
Established in 2018, we are the nation’s newest and only named nuclear engineering department, although our roots as an academic program go back to the 1950s as one of the oldest and longest-running programs in the nation.
Our formal academic program followed in the footsteps of President Dwight Eisenhower’s famous “Atoms for Peace” speech, which led to the creation of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the stewardship of peaceful uses of nuclear energy abroad and at home. This initiative built a fleet of university research reactors, the first of which was constructed at Penn State in 1955.
With a major overhaul to its beamline and a 12,000-square-foot addition to the beam hall completed in 2018, the Penn State Breazeale Reactor (PSBR) is both the nation’s oldest and newest university research reactor. The expanded beam hall at PSBR made space for a 30-meter-long Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) system, which was completed this year, giving Penn State the distinction of being the first and only university with a SANS instrument.
Ranked in the top ten nuclear engineering programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering is ranked third in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded each year, fifth in the number of graduate degrees awarded, and fifth in the amount of research expenditures per faculty member.
Our faculty are highly active in their research endeavors and are recognized world leaders in a wide range of fields, including thermal hydraulics, neutronics, nuclear materials science, neutron science, radiation detection, sensor development, nuclear and radiochemistry, nanonuclear medicine, and nuclear security.
Our nuclear-oriented professional student chapters—American Nuclear Society, International Nuclear Materials Management, and Women in Nuclear—are extremely active and nationally recognized.
With an alumni association that is second to none and strong ties to industry partners, our academic experience includes undergraduate research, study abroad, and industry internship opportunities.
We invite you to learn more about our educational and research opportunities and hope you consider joining our academic family in Happy Valley.
