Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise

Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry ExpertiseCarolyn J. Anderson, PhDUniversity of Pittsburgh

69th meeting of ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions

March 5, 2014

• C. BRADLEY MOORE (Chair), University of California, Berkeley

• CAROLYN J. ANDERSON, University of Pittsburgh• TRISH BAISDEN, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory• CAROL J. BURNS, Los Alamos National Laboratory• RONALD A. CHRZANOWSKI, Exelon Nuclear• SUE B. CLARK, Washington State University• RICHARD B. FREEMAN, Harvard University• HOWARD L. HALL, University of Tennessee• LESTER R. MORSS, University of Maryland• GRAHAM PEASLEE, Hope College• GEORGINE M. PION, Vanderbilt University• HENRY F. VANBROCKLIN, University of California, San

Francisco, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory• JOHN F. WACKER, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Study Committee

13 members, four in-person meetings, expertise in basic research, nuclear medicine, nuclear power, nuclear security, environmental management, scientific workforce, university administration, etc.

Labor economist

Scientist career development and workforce policy

Examine supply and demand for nuclear and radiochemistry expertise and discuss possible approaches for ensuring adequate availability of these skills in the future

I. Estimate the availability and need for experts

II. Estimate the gap between availability and need, and discuss the impact of this gap on the relevant sectors

III. Suggest approaches that could be implemented to assure the U.S. supply of experts is adequate for the next 20 years*

STUDY CHARGE

*Note: committee was only able to look out 5 years due to data limitations

I. AVAILABILITY AND NEED FOR EXPERTS

More than 100 years of nuclear and radiochemistry discoveries, achievements, and societal impact in

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, MEDICINE, and SECURITY

Concerns about expertise supply and demand date back to 1970s

--Chemists, who hold one or more degrees in chemistry and have taken specialized courses and conducted lab work in nuclear and radiochemistry, including:•radioactive nuclei•formation and properties of radioactive elements•Nuclear processes•Nuclear applications in which chemical behavior is important

--The core are members of American Chemical Society, Division of Nuclear Science and Technology

--Thesis subject terms – sometimes, but often do not, include “nuclear chemistry” – can be used to track PhDs in lieu of Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)

--Often cross-trained inorganic or organic chemists

Nuclear and Radiochemists are…

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Coun

t

Year

Encouraging numbers of new nuclear chemistry PhDs

Average of 13 nuclear chemistry PhD theses per year 2005-2010

PhD degrees

PhD theses

~60 graduate faculty each year

since 2005

Last year nuclear chemistry listed on Survey of Earned Doctorates

II. GAP BETWEEN AVAILABILITY AND NEED, AND IMPACT ON THE RELEVANT SECTORS

Nuclear and radiochemistry expertise will continue to be critical to the nation for 100s of more years

for…

• Protection against nuclear threats• Management of waste (legacy issues) • Growing use of nuclear medicine• Potential expansion of nuclear power

Uranium clusters for understanding the nuclear fuel cycle or nuclear waste

Radiotracers for Medical imaging

Separation technologies for long-term remediation

Estimated Supply of and Demand for Nuclear and Radiochemist Degree Holders over the Next 5 Years

BS MS PhD

Currently Employed 416 256 765

Demand for new hires (due to retirements and some growth)

200 93 306

Supply of new degree holders 250 50 65

The needs for expertise are barely being met by current supply—and future needs may not be met by

future supply

Includes academic faculty, government agencies, industry, and national laboratories

Security&

Medicine

• Too few graduate programs with more than a single nuclear or radiochemist exist to support educational and workforce needs

• Very little in-depth nuclear and radiochemistry content is taught at undergraduate and graduate level

A traditional academic career path is not always viable for obtaining urgently needed expertise

Only about 13 university programs have two or more faculty members and offer specialized course and laboratory work

-Seven of these are members of American Association of Universities (AAU)

Creative approaches are needed to maintain expertise

1.The committee commends the current and past efforts of federal agencies to support nuclear and radiochemistry workforce education and development (see report for list).

• e.g. the long-standing Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored Summer Schools in Nuclear and Radiochemistry, DNDO programs, etc.

2.However, all have largely been created independently by different federal funding agencies each with different emphasis on outcome.

There exists a great potential for gaps in funding between the various parts of the academic pipeline,

and there is no comprehensive plan to address academic pipeline issues.

III. APPROACHES THAT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED TO ASSURE THE U.S. SUPPLY OF EXPERTS IS ADEQUATE

1. Institutional: structural support and collaboration

2. Educational: on-the-job training and knowledge transfer and retention

3. Workforce Data: data collection and tracking of workforce

The Committee Recommends Actions in Three Main Areas of Need

• Between the larger nuclear and radiochemistry programs at universities and national laboratories, and the programs of 2- and 4-year colleges, research institutes, medical facilities, and industry.

• To satisfy both current and future professional and academic needs, including– Traditional academic education– Internships, fellowships, and on-the-job training opportunities– Access to equipped experimental and theoretical facilities;– Access to highly qualified and knowledgeable experts to assure

knowledge transfer and retention of critical information• Supported by federal agencies that depend on nuclear

and radiochemistry expertise (e.g. DHS, DOD, DOE, NSF, NIH, etc.)

Establish multiple formalized collaborative partnerships for research and education

BNL

PNNL

INL

LBNL &LLNL

SRNL

ANL

LANL

Four to six partnerships suggested, roughly based on number of application areas and location of national labs

Auburn

Tennessee Tech

Alabama

Idaho

Washington

ORNL

Medicine

Environmental Management

Security

Energy

Basic Science

• Maintain international leadership to support critical US missions that require this expertise,

• Attract and educate exceptionally capable students to sustain the pipeline– Offer focused summer schools for junior and senior level

undergraduates• Provide coursework, facilities, and other support to,

or collaborate with, university chemistry departments that need expertise

• Collaborate in the education of 2- and 4-year college faculty for preparation of educational materials and outreach.

Desired Impacts of Partnerships

Committee Conclusions

• Based on the state of research funding and the academic pipeline, the committee is not optimistic about the projected state of nuclear and radiochemistry expertise.

• The projected supply of U.S. nuclear and radiochemistry expertise will barely meet basic demands for at least the next 5 years.

• The small size of the expertise pool makes it fragile and vulnerable; it should be supported in a more coordinated and strategic manner than it is currently.

• Should there be major funding cuts, policy changes, or world events, the U.S. supply of nuclear and radiochemistry expertise will be inadequate.

Thank you!

For more information about this study: Dorothy Zolandz, Director

Board on Chemical Sciences and [email protected]/bcst

U.S. Department of Energy: National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office

of Nuclear Energy, and Office of Nuclear Physics

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Domestic Nuclear Detection Office

National Science Foundation: Chemistry Division