NE 400:  Senior Seminar

Course Syllabus

Course Title:  Senior Seminar
Course Number: 400 (1 semester hour of credit)
Professor:  H.L. Dodds
Nuclear Engineering Department
315 Pasqua Engineering Bldg.
Ph: 865-974-2525
FAX: 865- 974-0668
e-mail: hdj@utk.edu

Course Description and Goals:

The objective of this seminar for soon-to-be B.S. graduates in nuclear engineering is to address closure issues regarding their undergraduate education; to promote lifelong learning including graduate school, continuing education, and professional society involvement; and to fine tune the presentation skills of the students. Other topics that will be addressed include job hunting and interviewing, professional ethics, contemporary nuclear issues, and conducting exit surveys and exit interviews. Most of the lecture topics will be prepared by the students themselves, and then presented by the students to the entire class including the instructor. Each student lecture will last 12 -15 minutes followed by discussion of the topic by the entire class (15 min. total). This course has been approved as an oral communication course by the Undergraduate Council.

Topics Covered:

Week 1:	Overview topics to be covered during the semester; assign lecture topics to students. Students may also suggest additional topics, which must be approved by the instructor.
	Potential Topics
	Job hunting and interviewing.  UT Career Services Attending graduate school; continuing education opportunities for the working professional Professional society involvement; PE registration Current status of food irradiation in the US and abroad Professional ethics including computing ethics Nuclear waste issues; Yucca Mountain and dry cask storage Recent developments in nuclear medicine Recent developments in the use of nuclear technology in industrial applications Advanced reactor development; NGNP; NP2010; GNEP; GEN IV Power upgrades and license extensions of existing nuclear power plants Environmental aspects of nuclear versus non-nuclear generated electricity (e.g., TVA ash spill) Nuclear plant security after 9/11/2001 Nuclear Power renaissance in the US and abroad

Final Exam Period (2 hours): Finish student seminars; Complete exit surveys and interviews. Celebrate!

Class Schedule: The class meets once each week for fifty minutes each session.

Grades: S/NC; based on class participation and contributions to all NE 400 classes.

Contribution to Professional Component/Learning Outcomes:

1. Reflect and share impressions about the undergraduate nuclear engineering education experience.
2. Learn the "do's and don'ts" job interviewing. Become familiar with Career Services.
3. Understand professional ethics from the point of view of a working professional.
4. Learn more about ethics via an in class discussion including examples (e.g., playing solitaire daily on university computers).
5. Become familiar with the pros and cons of professional society involvement, graduate school, and continuing education.
6. Develop a desire to mentor freshman and sophomore nuclear engineering students.
7. Improve oral communication skills by giving oral presentations, which are critiqued by the instructor, to the entire class
8. Develop an awareness and understanding of contemporary nuclear issues.
9. Appreciate the fact that the UT Nuclear Engineering faculty desires to continuously improve its programs by receiving constructive criticism from seniors through exit surveys and exit interviews.

Relationship of Course Learning Outcomes to ABET Outcomes:

ABET Outcome 1:   Basic knowledge will be gained via specific NE 400 Outcomes 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 including job interviewing, ethics, continuing education, and contemporary nuclear issues.

ABET Outcomes 2, 3, 4, and 5 are not addressed in NE 400.

ABET Outcome 6:  Professional ethics will be addressed in two classes one of which will be devoted to an outside speaker with expertise in the area.

ABET Outcome 7:  Communication skills are addressed in several of the NE 400 specific learning Outcomes including 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9.

ABET Outcome 8:  Global/societal aspects of nuclear issues will be addressed in the presentation and discussion on ethics (NE 400 Outcomes 3 and 4).

ABET Outcome 9:  Lifelong learning is addressed by the discussion about professional society involvement, graduate school, continuing education, and professional registration.  (NE 400 Outcomes 5 and 9).

ABET Outcome 10:  Several classes will be devoted to contemporary nuclear issues such as the politics of waste disposal, post 9-11 nuclear plant security, etc. (NE 400 Outcome 8).

Revised by:

H.L. Dodds, January 8, 2009

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