|
New Lecture Series at Rensselaer To Focus on Nuclear Engineering Research
Inaugural Lecture for Richard T. Lahey Jr.
Distinguished Lecture Series Set for April 9
Richard T. Lahey Jr.
|
A new lecture series at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
is dedicated to fostering discussion and public interest in
topics related to nuclear engineering.
The Rensselaer Nuclear Engineering
Program will launch the Richard T. Lahey Jr. Distinguished
Lecture Series in Nuclear Engineering at 2 p.m. Monday, April
9, in the auditorium of the Center for Biotechnology and
Interdisciplinary Studies.
Lahey, professor emeritus in the Rensselaer Department of Mechanical,
Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering (MANE), will deliver the
inaugural lecture, titled “Technical Issues Associated with
Light Water Reactor Relicensing.”
“The new lecture series is an important platform to engage
students, faculty, staff, and communities beyond Rensselaer
about timely issues related to next-generation nuclear reactor
design, nuclear safety, and the use of nuclear technologies in
medicine,” said X. George Xu, MANE
professor and head of the Nuclear Engineering Program at
Rensselaer. “The series afford us an opportunity to honor one
of our most distinguished colleagues and bring world-class
nuclear engineers and scientists to campus to interact with and
broaden the educational experience of our students.”
Lahey made a generous gift to help fund the lecture
series, Xu said.
An international authority in multiphase flow, heat transfer
technology, and nuclear reactor safety, Lahey was a member of
the Rensselaer faculty from 1975 through 2009. He is a former
dean of the School of Engineering,
director of the Center for Multiphase Research, and chairman of
the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Science at the
Institute. Prior to joining Rensselaer, Lahey held several
technical and leadership positions at General Electric in
research and development related to boiling water reactor (BWR)
technology. He is widely celebrated and has been honored with
several prestigious awards including the E.O. Lawrence Memorial
Award from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Seaborg Medal
from the American Nuclear Society (ANS), and the Glenn Murphy
Award from the American Society of Engineering Education
(ASEE). Lahey is a member of the National Academy of
Engineering (NAE) and a foreign member of the Russian Academy
of Science (RAS).
The nuclear engineering program at Rensselaer is among the
oldest in the nation, dating back to the late 1950s. The
university bestowed its first nuclear engineering doctoral
degrees in 1962, and its first nuclear engineering bachelor’s
degrees in 1967. Today, Rensselaer consistently ranks among the
top nuclear engineering programs, and for several years
graduated more nuclear engineering undergraduates than any
other university in the United States. Currently, about 160
undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled in the Nuclear
Engineering Program at Rensselaer.
The Nuclear Engineering Program at Rensselaer is anchored by
outstanding faculty as well as two unique, world-class research
facilities. The Gaerttner Linear
Accelerator (LINAC), a high-power electron linear
accelerator capable of producing intense electron and neutron
beams, is among the most powerful and versatile accelerators in
its class. LINAC has enabled leading-edge nuclear engineering
research at Rensselaer for more than 50 years. Additionally,
the
Walthousen Reactor Critical Facility is one of only 25
research reactors at U.S. universities, and is used by students
to gain practical experience and obtain a license from the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission for reactor operation—a key
differentiator for students seeking employment in the nuclear
industry.
For additional information on nuclear engineering at
Rensselaer, visit:
|
Published
March 22,
2012 |
Contact: Michael Mullaney
Phone: (518) 276-6161
E-mail: mullam@rpi.edu |
|
