Nuclear engineers for society: What education can do

Abstract

Engineering education is a key factor in determining the range of engineers’ expertise, the attitude and the behavior of engineers, and the culture of the engineering professional community. This chapter is devoted to nuclear engineering education post-Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Prior to education itself, knowledge and attitudes required of nuclear engineers are firstly discussed, focusing on social aspects of nuclear technology. I emphasize the importance of mutual communication with society, not only with the general public but also with experts in other fields, by referring to 3 points which are essential for appropriate advancement of nuclear engineering and can be reinforced with mutual communication: social legitimacy of nuclear technology, introspection within the nuclear professional community, and public trust in nuclear technology and the professional community. These points are not only needed for smooth utilization of nuclear technology, but also, and more importantly, needed for enhancing the safety of nuclear technology utilization and advancing nuclear technology to provide more benefits and welfare to society. Finally, I propose 4 items for education reform, which are mainly designed to make mutual communication with society more effective while maintaining a high level of technical expertise: standardization and internationalization, transparency and sharing, social-scientific literacy education, and development and evaluation of faculty