Nuclear Engineering

You know that some of today’s biggest challenges concern nuclear technology. And you want to help solve those problems, whether in industry, education, government or national laboratories. Or you might want to apply your expertise to other fields — from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to developing medical imaging, to diagnosing and combating chronic diseases. Nuclear engineers lead the research and development of processes using nuclear energy and radiation to produce electricity, power spacecraft and advance medicine. It’s a powerful field — and it’s quickly growing.

Why choose Berkeley?

Because our nuclear engineering department plays a leading role in advancing fusion technology, both toward advanced approaches to magnetic fusion, as well as in collaborations with the Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley national laboratories. Our faculty and students also work with researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Berkeley’s Nuclear Research Center is involved in many international collaborations.

Berkeley faculty are currently conducting research in fields including applied nuclear physics; bionuclear and radiological physics; energy systems and the environment; ethics and the impact of technology on society; fission reactor analysis; fuel cycles and radioactive waste; fusion science and technology; laser, particle beam and plasma technologies; nuclear materials and chemistry; nuclear thermal hydraulics; and risk, safety and large-scale systems analysis.

Sound interesting? Learn more about the Department of Nuclear Engineering and its programs.