INL National University Consortium – Annual Report 21 INL and Oregon State Collaborate on an Innovative New Class For most working in the field of nuclear energy, they often attend American Nuclear Society conferences to learn about the latest innovations. But in the case of a recent collaboration between INL and Oregon State University, lunchtime was the breeding ground for innovation. The latest collaboration between the two institutions was a course entitled “Nuclear Fuel Qualification – Post Irradiation Examination.” Taught by Mitch Meyer, the Characterization and Advanced Post-Irradiation Examination director, and 11 other INL researchers, the class was facilitated by Wade Marcum, an associate professor at OSU. This inaugural class had 16 students, but faculty members also sat in during many lectures. “There was a lot of curiosity about the topics we were presenting,” Meyer said. The unique course covered topics such as fission gas measurement, electron beam characterization and fuel performance codes. “The faculty and university very much appreciated this exchange and opportunity as it fills a gap in the present teaching curriculum and connects us with a premier research institute in a way that we have not before,” Marcum said. After building the curriculum through a series of conference calls with Marcum, discussions with INL researchers, several hours of work on nights and weekends, and approval of the Oregon State nuclear engineering faculty, the class was taught by INL researchers both in person and via video conferencing. “No other university provides this type of course,” said Aaron Craft, who taught the lectures on neutron radiography. “When we get bright nuclear engineers or materials scientists in here, they haven’t had an education on post-irradiation examination or nuclear fuel qualification anywhere. It doesn’t exist, so we end up teaching them from scratch.” Mitch Meyer (far right) collaborated with Oregon State University to develop an innovative new course. University Engagement