2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Dialogue on the topic of nuclear energy has a rich history including the transition from military to civilian applications, the legacy of the political entanglements of nuclear waste management, and the varied public perceptions of the risks of radiation . This complex historical context, juxtaposed with the present need for rapid deployment of low-carbon energy systems to combat energy crises in the coming decade, make nuclear energy an interesting case study as an historically entrenched field on the cusp of renewal. Situated at these crossroads, we present an analysis of how engineering has been previously defined by nuclear engineers and how the role and responsibilities of engineers and of the technologies they produce and promote have been taught and perpetuated. This work explores the beliefs about knowledge and the role of the engineer that are embedded in how students train in the field and practice of nuclear engineering. We present here an analysis of embedded value systems in core textbooks typically used in undergraduate and graduate nuclear engineering studies in the US, specifically looking at what is considered essential to being a nuclear engineer. Key themes discussed are engineering as problem solving, the relevance of multidisciplinarity, and the authoritative nature of knowledge. The analysis considers the context in which the textbooks were written and how the embedded worldview found in the textbook shapes the current landscape of nuclear engineering education, research, and practice. We analyze what nuclear engineering students are implicitly taught about their roles and responsibilities via presentation of technical course material. Overall, this case study investigates nuclear engineering for its curricula-embedded epistemological foundations and offers reflections on the relevance of beliefs about knowledge to engineering problem solving.