Proposed partnership between Politechnika Warszawska

Proposed partnership between Politechnika Warszawskaand Oregon State University, with possible support of

the Fulbright Foundation

Tomasz M. GiebultowiczDepartment of Physics, Oregon State University

and Fulbright Scholar, 2009/10 academic year

This presentation can be accessed at the Web address:

http://urlcut.com/CH2MHill_Seminar

Provisional project title:

PLUS ULTRAwhich stands for:

PoLish and U.S. Universities Linked forTRaining Atomic

Energy Specialists

Provisional project logo:

Motivation:After the Polish Government in 1991 vowed never to build nuclear power plants on Polish soil, training of nuclear engineers at all Polishuniversities was discontinued.

In 2009, that “ban” has been lifted – Poland now plans to build two nuclear power plants of total output of 3 GW by 2020. Because of the 20-year “gap” in educating nuclear engineers, the country nowis in urgent need to restore those programs, and to start educatingnew cadres at a vigorous pace. Needless to say, foreign assistancewill be most welcome!

Oregon State University is proud of its Department of Nuclear Engineering, ranked 10th in the US, and still developing. Sharingone’s expertise with others who may benefit from it is traditionallyregarded as a strong “moral obligation” by the American scientistsThis is one reason why the OSU Department is willing to help thePolish colleagues – however, it may also benefit from it. For inst-stance, research is being done in Poland on Very High TemperatureReactors – and this is also an object of strong interest at OSU(more reasons will be given later).

Let’s now introduce the members of the proposed partnership….

Let’s first introduce the American partner:

OSU Major Nuclear Related Initiatives:

Warsaw Polytechnic:

Strengths:• Excellent reputation, attracting top students;• “Infrastructure” for teaching;• Strong commitment to launch a vigorous prog-ram;• Many experts in rela-ted areas (e.g., thermal instalations & engines);• Convenient location.

Weaknesses: • Lack of any larger on-campus nuclear instru-ments or installations for practical training – a serious drawback for potential exchange students from the U.S.

POLISH PARTNERS:

Therefore, in my opinion, another Polish partneris essential for the success of PLUS ULTRA:

WarsawPolytechnic

The Institute of Nuclear Problems at Świerk

The victims of the1991“nuclear ban” were academic shools –however, nuclear rese-arch was continued inPoland at National Labs,the largest of which islocated at Świerk, about 30 km from Warsaw.

The Świerk Institutehas an educationaldivision, which has the same rights as gradu-ate schools at Polish academic institutions – i.e., it can award Ph.D.degrees.

Świerk was the only institution at which education and training of reactor specialist wascontinued after 1991. At a small scale – nonetheless, the Institute is very well preparedfor such tasks. It has a number of installations that can be used for practical training –

of these the most important is certainly the 30 MW MARIA reactor.

The 30 MW MARIA Reactor(unique design: Beryllium +

light water moderator)

MARIA is a “multi-purpose” reactor, used for:

• Production of isotopes (primarily, for medical applications).• Reactor physics research;• Reactor safety research;• Radiography, Neutron Activation Analysis;• Condensed matter studies (using external neutron beams);• training reactor operators, reactor engineers and reactor physicists – here the “real” MARIA is used in combination with a unique computer “MARIA simulator”, enabling one, for example, to simulate normal operation as well as dangerous and even catastrophic situations - an experience how to deal with them was what Chernobyl operators lacked.

Swierk* (the Institute of Nuclear Problems):

Strengths:• In addition to the “Maria” reactor, many other instruments and installations that may be interesting for exchange students for gaining “hands-on” experience;• Highly qualified staff with experience of supervising Ph.D. projects in reactor physics and technology;• Innovative research conducted in areas that are also of interest for OSU scientists (e.g., Thorium fuel, or Very High Temperature Reactors).

Drawbacks:• Limited possibilities of on-campus accommodation; the need of daily commuting from Warsaw by bus may pose an inconvenience for visiting students and scientists.

* “Swierk” in Polish means “a fir three”.

Well, and last – but, definitely, not least:

A crucial factor in such a project that we outlined here is sponsorship.

Some funds will be needed to set the project in motion…

Good news:The Polish-American Fulbright Commission has tentativelydeclared it may offer financial assistance for PLUS ULTRAactions falling into the framework of the Commission grant-awarding rules - e.g., exchange of students or instructors.

Facsimile of the Polish-American Fulbright Commissionweb page,listing thetypes ofavailablegrants:

An excerpt fromthe Polish-U.S.Fulbright “MissionStatement”,announcing thatthe funds for supporting the exchange of students andinstructors willbe significantlyincreased in thenear future.

So, all potential partners of the PLUS ULTRA listedabove have expressed enthusiasm for the project.

What is needed now? To start planning practical steps!(without such plans, one cannot apply for financial support!)

Here are some suggestions:

• As proposed by prof. Ludwik Dobrzynski from IPJ Swierk, a good “start-up” step might be to organize a “Polish-American Summer School on Reactor Physics and Technology” – for students it may be a valuable experience, and for the senior participants such a “get together” will be an excellent opportunity to discuss concrete plans for future actions.

• Those “future actions” may be students internships at Swierk or at OSU Radiation Center, shorter or longer stays of exchange students and professors, jointly supervised Ph.D. and M.Sc. Projects…

Conclusions:

So far, everybody agrees that PLUS ULTRA will bea valuable initiative – now it is time to start writing

proposals, and looking for other potential sponsors.

This presentation can be accessed at the Web address:

http://urlcut.com/CH2MHill_Seminar