Developments in the Nuclear Safeguards and Security Engineering Degree Program at Tomsk Polytechnic University

Over the last six years, Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) has developed a 5½ year engineering degree program in the field of Material Protection Control and Accounting (MPC&A). In 2009 the first students graduated with this new degree. There were 25 job offers from nuclear fuel cycle enterprises of Russia and Kazakhstan for 17 graduates of the program. Due to the rather wide selection of workplaces, all graduates have obtained positions at nuclear enterprises. The program was developed within the Applied Physics and Engineering Department (APED). The laboratory and methodological base has been created taking into consideration the experience of the similar program at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI). However, the TPU program has some distinguishing features such as the inclusion of special courses pertaining to fuel enrichment and reprocessing. During the last two years, three MPC&A laboratories have been established at APED. This was made possible due to several factors such as establishment of the State innovative educational program at TPU, assistance of the U.S. Department of Energy through Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the financial support of the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and some Russian private companies. All three of the MPC&A laboratoriesmore » are part of the Innovative Educational Center “Nuclear Technologies and Non-Proliferation,” which deals with many topics including research activities, development of new curricula for experts training and retraining, and training of master’s students. In 2008, TPU developed a relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which was familiarized with APED’s current resources and activities. The IAEA has shown interest in creation of a master’s degree educational program in the field of nuclear security at TPU. A future objective is to acquaint nuclear fuel cycle enterprises with new APED capabilities and involve the enterprises in the scientific and educational projects implemented through the Nuclear Technologies and Non-Proliferation Center. This paper describes the development of the MPC&A engineering degree program and future goals of TPU in the field of nonproliferation education.