Abstract: 

To acquaint students with the backend of the nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management, storage and disposition, the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University has conducted three education-abroad trips since 2018.  The destination has been Switzerland.  The 2 ½ week trip has included visits and briefings by the responsible government agency for the waste disposal program, as well as the implementing organization and the regulatory authority.  Additional tours took place at the two Swiss federal institutes of technology, two underground research laboratories, the interim spent fuel storage facility, the federal research institute and an operating nuclear power plant.  Students were also encouraged to use their free time to explore the country and become acquainted with Swiss culture and customs.

Biography:

Kenneth L. Peddicord received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois. Prior to joining Texas A&M University in 1983, he was a Research Nuclear Engineer at the Eidgenössisches Institut für Reaktorforschung (now the Paul Scherrer Institut), Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Oregon State University, and a Visiting Scientist at the EURATOM Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy.

At Texas A&M University has been a Professor of Nuclear Engineering and has served in a number of administrative roles. From 2007 to 2019, he was director of the Nuclear Power Institute. His interests are workforce development for the nuclear industry, small modular and microreactors, the backend of the nuclear fuel cycle, and fusion engineering systems.