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Nuclear education and training in Russia. Nuclear physics and technology Nuclear technology education abroad

Beginning: 40000 ⃏ per month

Experienced: 70000 ⃏ per month

Professional:⃏100,000 per month

* - information on salaries is given approximately based on vacancies on profiling sites. Salaries in a specific region or company may differ from those shown. Your income is greatly influenced by how you can apply yourself in your chosen field of activity. Income is not always limited only to what vacancies are offered to you on the labor market.

Demand for the profession

Modern nuclear physicists have the opportunity to work in both private and government institutions. As a rule, this is the area of ​​research, control, and monitoring of nuclear reactors. Scientific and teaching activities are also available to specialists with this qualification. As for large-scale research and serious scientific work, the state does not give this area as much importance as it should. Therefore, truly talented nuclear physicists with abilities and knowledge often emigrate to other countries, where they are given more opportunities to realize their ideas and work results.

Who is the profession suitable for?

In order to choose the profession of a nuclear physicist, you first need to have good knowledge of physics and a desire to work in this field. Considering that the work is quite specific and requires certain qualities and skills, it is not suitable for everyone. The future physicist must have extraordinary analytical abilities, a penchant for logical, rational analysis, and mathematical abilities. The ability to concentrate, to focus on one subject or type of activity for a long time is very important. A physicist will have to conduct various experiments, so he must love research and have a good understanding of its essence.

Responsibilities

  • receiving duty, checking the workplace, the state of serviceability of equipment (centralized control systems, sensors, building structures, nuclear fuel cycle structures);
  • performing dosimetric measurements;
  • registration of elementary, charged and neutral particles;
  • processing of received data;
  • analysis of physical results, permissible radiation fluxes;
  • recording the received data;
  • regulation of facility safety, accounting and control of nuclear materials and radioactive substances;
  • control of fuel resources and assessment of their reserves, storage of spent nuclear fuel
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According to Rosatom State Corporation estimates, the annual need for new specialists in the industry is 3-3.5 thousand people. Thus, training competent personnel for the nuclear energy industry is one of the most pressing problems in the development of the Russian nuclear energy sector.

Educational and methodological support

The quality of nuclear engineering education today is controlled by three educational and methodological associations (EMU).

The UMO, based at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, within the framework of the “Nuclear Physics and Technology” direction, coordinates education, training and methodological work in 19 universities and six military schools in the following specialties:

  • "Nuclear reactors and power plants",
  • “Security and non-proliferation of nuclear materials”,
  • “Electronics and automation of physical installations”,
  • “Radiation safety of humans and the environment”,
  • “Physics of charged particle beams and acceleration technologies”,
  • "Physics of the atomic nucleus and elementary particles",
  • “Physics of Condensed Matter of Materials”,
  • "Physics of kinetic phenomena."

UMO on the basis of the Russian Chemical-Technological University named after. DI. Mendeleev conducts similar work with seven universities that graduate specialists in the field of Chemical Technologies. Specialties: “Modern chemical technologies for the energy industry” and “Chemical technologies of rare elements and rare earth materials.”

The UMO, based at the Moscow Energy Institute, controls seven universities in the field of “Nuclear and Hydrogen Energy”. Specialties:

  • “Nuclear power plants and nuclear installations”,
  • “Technical physics of thermonuclear reactors and plasma installations”,
  • “Water and fuel technologies at thermal and nuclear power plants.”

Training of specialists

Currently, 22 Russian universities operate 32 programs in nuclear specialties, providing upon completion the qualification of an engineer (specialist), and more than 25 master's programs.

The main state universities training nuclear engineers are:

  • National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" - the base university of the State Corporation "Rosatom";
  • Moscow State Technical University named after. N.E. Bauman (MSTU);
  • Ivanovo State Energy University (ISEU);
  • Moscow Energy Institute (Technical University, MPEI);
  • Russian Chemical-Technological University named after. DI. Mendeleev (RHTU);
  • Obninsk Institute of Atomic Energy (IATE);
  • St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University (SPbSPU);
  • Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University (NSTU);
  • Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU);
  • Ural State Technical University (USTU).

Most universities have experimental facilities where students can carry out their laboratory work and research assignments and gain practical experience. For example, NRNU MEPhI and Tomsk Polytechnic University have working research reactor installations, NSTU, Moscow Power Engineering Institute, St. Petersburg State University have unique experimental installations for thermal-hydraulic studies of various coolants, and radiochemical laboratories equipped with sophisticated measuring equipment are located at Russian Chemical Technology University, USTU and Tomsk Polytechnic University. A number of research centers have also been created on the basis of NRNU MEPhI - nuclear, particle acceleration, laser, materials science, non-proliferation, nanotechnology and others.

Universities provide education and training in accordance with curricula and standards that reflect the specific requirements for specialists in a given field. These standards include:

  • Full-time higher education only;
  • special attention paid to fundamental knowledge of physics and mathematics, combined with engineering skills;
  • a significant proportion of practical laboratory classes;
  • student research work starting from the seventh semester;
  • Duration of training is five to six years, with six months allocated for pre-graduation practice and preparation of the thesis;
  • strict requirements for the professional qualities of students, which necessarily include a safety culture and knowledge of nuclear non-proliferation issues.

Consolidation of educational infrastructure

A competent nuclear specialist has deep knowledge of the natural sciences, various engineering skills, the ability and willingness to master new nuclear technologies and equipment, and masters the methodology for performing numerical computer and full-scale experiments, assessing the reliability and reliability of experimental data. He must be ready to make decisions and cope with optimization problems with a large number of parameters and criteria. The competence of such a specialist requires the ability to take into account technological, ergonomic and economic limitations, possession of relevant skills in information technology, communication skills necessary for team work, the ability to contact specialists from related nuclear technical fields, the ability to work within the framework of international projects, a good level of English tongue.

To achieve these goals, it was decided to consolidate the knowledge and infrastructure of Russian nuclear educational institutions. The first step was taken in 2007, when the Russian Nuclear Innovation Consortium (RNIC) was created, which includes 21 universities, three institutes for advanced training and 12 research centers.

In December 2009, the National Research Nuclear University was created - a networked regional academic and research complex based on MEPhI (NRNU MEPhI).

Such a unified educational space is being created in accordance with current principles and trends in nuclear engineering education around the world.

Cooperation with enterprises

In recent years, Russian universities have had the opportunity to more effectively use the research facilities of leading Russian nuclear institutes and industrial enterprises for practical classes, research and graduate theses of students.

For example, at the State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation-IPPE (Obninsk), critical stands BFS-1 and BFS-2 are used both for research purposes and as a valuable educational resource for training students, teachers and specialists. Today, a large amount of educational material and facilities, including laboratories, have become available to domestic and foreign students. The BFS-1 and BFS-2 stands also contain archival data on various demonstration tests and experiments performed on them on a wide range of tasks, including simulating the conditions of fast reactors of various types, optimizing the neutronic regime of their cycles, and confirming nuclear safety. Combined with an ever-expanding program of lecture courses and exemplary experiments, these stands provide students with a unique opportunity to access real-life experimental work and its results. In fact, everything that is currently located at this site is connected, in one way or another, with future fast reactors.

JSC "SSC RIAR" in Dimitrovgrad also offers its experimental stands and personnel for training.

Students of relevant specialties are sent to undergo pre-diploma internships and write theses at nuclear power plants of the Russian Federation, thanks to which the efforts of the teaching staff and practitioners are combined to prepare future professionals. NRNU "MEPhI" together with leading organizations in the nuclear industry have organized 26 scientific and educational centers that combine the efforts of organizations and the university both to conduct scientific research and to train undergraduate and graduate students. Many of them won the competition of scientific and educational centers within the framework of the federal target program “Scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel of innovative Russia” for 2009-2013.

International partnership

Since 1997, the world's first master's program for training specialists in the field of safeguards and security of nuclear materials has been operating as part of a joint project of the US Department of Energy, leading American nuclear laboratories and MEPhI.

In recent years, a group of teachers from the USA and the Russian Federation has also been developing new master's programs that will have to work on solving new world problems that are currently emerging. The joint Russian-American international nuclear safety program, implemented with the support of the US Department of Energy and Rosenergoatom, provides nuclear faculty from Texas A&M, Merlinda and Oregon universities (USA) and National Research Nuclear University MEPhI the opportunity to work together to prepare human resources for the nuclear industry .

Professors at these universities have been creating new master's programs since 2004. The new curricula they developed for students around the world involve performing experimental and theoretical research, a course of lectures on the physics of fast reactors with a total duration of 72 hours, and conducting practical work. As part of the international nuclear safety program, students can undertake internships at installations in France, Switzerland and the Russian Federation.

A number of universities offer innovative projects within the framework of nuclear knowledge management and GNEP initiatives, for example, foreign internship at facilities in the Russian Federation for foreign students, nuclear engineering English courses for students from third countries, short-term theoretical lecture courses conducted by leading specialists and experts - nuclear scientists. NRNU "MEPhI" actively cooperates with the IAEA on the management and preservation of nuclear knowledge and the development of exemplary educational programs in the field of "Nuclear Security and Safety" and "Nuclear Technologies and Engineering". The IAEA mission on nuclear knowledge management, which visited NRNU MEPhI in January of this year, confirmed the leading role of the university in the Russian nuclear education system. It was noted that NRNU MEPhI has every opportunity to become an international regional center for nuclear education, providing training, retraining and advanced training of personnel in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy for countries that have embarked on the path of nuclear energy development. NRNU "MEPhI" is already involved in the work of the IAEA on technical assistance programs for Belarus and Armenia for the development of the necessary human resources.

The main goal of all these events is to motivate a new generation of students to work in the industry, prepare them to solve various technological problems, and also promote compliance with non-proliferation and international security.

    Bachelor's degree
  • 14.03.01 Nuclear energy and thermophysics
  • 14.03.02 Nuclear physics and technology
    Specialty
  • 14.05.01 Nuclear reactors and materials
  • 14.05.02 Nuclear power plants: design, operation and engineering
  • 14.05.03 Isotope separation technologies and nuclear fuel

The future of the industry

One of the symbols of the new ecological society will be nuclear energy, capable of ensuring stable prices for electricity and minimal impact on the environment: the release of greenhouse gases and carcinogens characteristic of coal and oil plants, which still make up a significant share of traditional energy. There will be more nuclear power plants in the world, and their safety level will be significantly higher.

At the end of 2011, Rosatom noted an increase from 12 to 21 in the number of foreign orders for Russian nuclear power units. In total, approximately 400–450 GW of new nuclear power capacity will be built in the world by 2030.

Three factors determine the further development of nuclear energy. Firstly, the exhaustibility of hydrocarbon resources. British Petroleum experts gave a forecast for the development of hydrocarbon production in the 21st century. There will be enough oil for 46 years (in Russia – for 21 years), gas – for 59 years (in Russia – for 76 years). At the same time, global energy consumption is expected to increase by 60% by 2030.

Secondly, environmental pollution dictates the need to switch to “friendly” energy. Continued warming results in rising sea levels, catastrophic hurricanes and, paradoxically, colder temperatures in some winter months due to disruption of natural balances. Therefore, nuclear energy still remains one of the most realistic options for the development of mankind.

The third argument is economic. The economic attractiveness of this type of energy remains due to its quick payback, and the record utilization rate of installed capacity compared to other types of heating plants (about 80%), which makes nuclear energy the most reliable component of industrial development.

In the near future, a Fast Neutron Reactor will be created and Thorium Cycle Technologies will be mastered.

Professions of the future

  • Power Generation Systems Modernization Engineer
  • Meteoenergetic
  • Recovery systems engineer

Nowadays in universities you can get a similar specialty according to profiles

  • Design and operation of nuclear power plants
  • Radiation safety
  • AC monitoring and control systems

Among the dominant activities of a nuclear physicist, one can highlight such basic ones as maintaining reactor halls, making a conclusion about the state of a nuclear reactor (based on the data provided), taking readings from various instruments located on reactors, rebooting and starting a nuclear reactor (if necessary, such actions). The work is very responsible, since if a specialist acts incorrectly or lacks knowledge, people may suffer. Moreover, in this case we are not talking about several dozen or even hundreds of people, but about thousands, sometimes millions.

Modern nuclear physicists have the opportunity to work in both private and government institutions. As a rule, this is the area of ​​research, control, and monitoring of nuclear reactors. Scientific and teaching activities are also available to specialists with this qualification. As for large-scale research and serious scientific work, the state does not give this area as much importance as it should.

Therefore, truly talented nuclear physicists with abilities and knowledge often emigrate to other countries, where they are given more opportunities to realize their ideas and work results.

Does nuclear energy have a future or will the profession of nuclear physicist become a thing of the past?

In its current form, nuclear energy has no future. Today, uranium235 is used as fuel in nuclear energy. The problem is that the reserves of this nuclear fuel on the planet are very limited. If nuclear energy develops at the current pace, uranium-235 will be used up in the next half century, almost at the same time that oil and gas production on Earth will stop. There are huge reserves of uranium-238 that could last humanity for thousands of years. But to start a reaction with this isotope, the same uranium-235 is required as a source of neutrons. There is less and less time left to develop and put into production reliable so-called “fast” reactors using uranium-238, which is in abundance, as “firewood” - other energy sources are rapidly running out.

This very complex scientific and engineering problem, requiring enormous intellectual and material resources, has not yet been solved. If the moment is missed, neither wind turbines nor rapeseed fuel will save humanity from an energy catastrophe.

Benefits of Education

  • The program is implemented with the participation of scientific and teaching staff, who have a high publication activity, which allows students to be involved in solving current scientific and practical problems
  • The program is based on fundamental and applied achievements of domestic university education and the traditions of the applied mathematical school of St. Petersburg University
  • The graduate receives an education that allows him to solve current problems of design, management of various technical objects, technological processes, socio-economic systems, information systems, carry out practical activities in the application of various mathematical methods and computer technologies, have the ability to master and develop new technologies

Famous teachers

  • N.V. Egorov - Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Modeling of Electromechanical and Computer Systems, founder of a well-known scientific and pedagogical school in the field of applied mathematics and control processes. For more than 12 years he worked in the Expert Council on Management, Computer Science and Informatics of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, a member of the International Steering Committee (European Section) for holding conferences on vacuum electronic sources and the International Coordinating Council for holding symposia “Hydrogen Energy: Theoretical and Engineering Solutions” " Winner of the Certificate of Honor of the President of the Russian Federation (and badge) “For merits in the field of education, training of qualified personnel and many years of fruitful work”, medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, diploma of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, medal of honor of the German Hydrogen Society, certificate of honor St. Petersburg State University to the participant of the competition “For Pedagogical Excellence”
  • G. I. Kurbatova - Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Modeling of Electromechanical and Computer Systems, specialist in the field of modeling and analysis of transport systems (pipelines - sea, land), moving media (unsteady flows in multiphase media in the presence of phase transitions, non-isothermal turbulent flows of liquids and gases, nonlinear ion exchange diffusion)
  • V. M. Malkov - Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Modeling of Electromechanical and Computer Systems. For many years he was the leader of scientific projects funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, and the “Universities of Russia” programs. Founder of the scientific direction "Mechanics of multilayer elastomeric structures", a specialist in the field of nonlinear theory of elasticity, in particular in the theory of governing equations of nonlinear theory of elasticity and viscoelasticity, in the study of nonlinear problems in the theory of the elastomeric layer and multilayer rubber-metal structures
  • V. P. Tregubov - Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Modeling of Electromechanical and Computer Systems, Member of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Biomechanics, Member of the Board of the All-Russian Society of Biomechanics, Member of the International Society of Biomechanics, Corresponding Member - Representative of Russia in the European Society of Biomechanics, Member organizational, scientific and program committees of a number of International conferences. Specialist in the field of modeling the human body under shock and vibration conditions, modeling the human musculoskeletal system, modeling prosthetic systems
  • D. A. Ovsyannikov - Honorary Professor of St. Petersburg State University, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Head of the Department of Theory of Control Systems for Electrophysical Equipment. He is a specialist in the field of mathematical modeling and optimization of controlled dynamic processes, and conducts extensive scientific and pedagogical activities. Under his leadership, special software was created for the problems of modeling the dynamics of charged beams in various structures, which has no analogues in world practice.

International connections

  • Ruprecht-Karl University Heidelberg (Germany)
  • Institute of Physical Chemistry named after J. Heyrovsky (Czech Republic)
  • National Taiwan University (Taiwan, China)
  • University of Surrey (UK)
  • University of Tsukuba (Japan)
  • Mahatma Gandhi University (India)

Practice and future career

Students undergo internships in such organizations as Siemens, RATEK, at the high-performance computing complex at St. Petersburg State University, as well as at the Department of Information and Nuclear Technologies of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. Students can participate in various research projects, including the creation of the Russian Center for Collective Use on the basis of the new NICA accelerator complex.

List of key professions

  • Senior Systems Analyst
  • Senior Research Engineer
  • Senior Specialist
  • Senior consultant
  • Information systems implementation specialist
  • Information systems programmer
  • Information Systems Consultant
  • Service engineer for information systems
  • Leading specialist in information systems implementation
  • Programmer-designer of information systems
  • Lead Information Systems Consultant
  • Business analyst
  • Head of Information Systems Service Department