The University's role in the construction of a nuclear research center may see reinvigorated interest in nuclear power among students.
The Center for Advanced Engineering and Research, currently being constructed in Bedford, Va., would allow University students, as well as those from other nearby schools, to conduct cutting-edge research.
"We wanted to bring the expertise of research universities within our reach," CAER's Executive Director Bob Bailey said.
The Engineering School, along with nuclear power company AREVA and Virginia Tech, was involved in the planning stages of the center.
The finished plan for the new two-story research center includes nuclear energy controls, control room technology, wireless sensors and cognitive radio. A tower located at the front of the building will be used to conduct research from antenna arrays.
While CAER boasts nuclear energy and wireless communications equipment, it is building technologies to ensure safe research.
The University once offered a flourishing nuclear engineering program 30 years ago, said Barry Johnson, the Engineering School's associate dean of research. The program was so extensive that several nuclear research reactors were actually located on Grounds.
But when a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant experienced a dangerous meltdown in 1979 - otherwise known as the Three Mile Island Incident - student interest in the program decreased significantly, forcing the University to end the program and decommission the reactors.
"Now there is more interest," Johnson said. "What the industry really needs is mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, computer engineers ... who know about nuclear engineering."
Unlike the University's previous nuclear engineering program, CAER will not have a nuclear reactor. Instead, the facility will have a model of a reactor, allowing students to work in a safer environment.
Johnson also added that CAER would be able to help students in the Lynchburg area to obtain a degree from the University without the financial strain of moving to Charlottesville. By attending a community college and obtaining an associate's degree, students then would be considered for admission to the University's engineering program, he said.
CAER will be an ideal environment for University students to conduct their research, Johnson said.
"It is a unique facility in the United States," he said. "I am not aware of anything like it in the U.S"
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