ROANE COUNTY, Tenn. — Roane State Community College is developing a nuclear technology program, helped by a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The program is meant to help train and prepare students working to enter the nuclear field.
The grant will be used to fund laboratory equipment and needed program materials, as well as other components of the college like gas cards. Roane State works in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12, UT-Battelle and more. Y-12 also said they "eagerly anticipate recruiting and hiring students who are trained" through the program.
"With the nuclear renaissance that's happening and growing in and around the Oak Ridge area, Roane State is going to be there to help provide those technician-level employees that so many of our partners are going to need in the future," said Dr. Chris Whaley, President of Roane State.
Dr. Joe Stainback is the director of the program and said it will provide real-world experiences to students. It will show them how to handle simulated nuclear materials and handle the equipment used by professionals.
"We want students to experience, you know, radiation-detection equipment — having their hands on that equipment and detecting real-life radioactive sources," he said. "There's a little bit of a worry that the workforce is insufficient to the ambitions that we have right now."
East Tennessee is known for its nuclear history, with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 helping handle and pioneer nuclear technologies. Whaley said the college also hopes the program can help keep workers in the East Tennessee area.
"We fully anticipate that a lot of these folks are going to be right here in East Tennessee once they complete their training," he said.
The program will be a skills-based curriculum designed around employer demands, providing credentials to work in the nuclear field.