Nuclear Workforce Development Scholarships and Enhancements Program Phase I: Outreach and Recruiting

Hayrettin B Karayaka; Mehrube Mehrubeoglu

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Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Training and Workforce Needs in the Energy Sector
Tagged Division: Energy Conversion and Conservation
Page Count: 14
Page Numbers: 23.936.1 - 23.936.14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--22321
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/22321
Download Count: 362

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Paper Authors

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Hayrettin B Karayaka Western Carolina University

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Hayrettin Bora Karayaka, PhD
Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering
Western Carolina University
Department of Engineering and Technology
Belk Building 339
Cullowhee, NC 28723

Bora Karayaka is an Electrical Engineering faculty at Kimmel School, Western Carolina University. With his over ten years of industry experience, he has extensive experience in project management, and a clear understanding of deadlines, industry requirements, safety and reliability issues, and other aspects in the power and energy fields. He is responsible for teaching electric power engineering courses in the department.

Dr. Karayaka’s research interests include ocean wave energy harvesting, grid integration of renewables, electrical machines and smart grid. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Istanbul Technical University in Control and Computer Engineering and his PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University.

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Mehrube Mehrubeoglu Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi

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Abstract

Nuclear Workforce Development Scholarships and Enhancement Program Year I: Outreach and RecruitingFunded by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Workforce Development Scholarshipsand Enhancement Program at (…..) has been designed to provide five Scholarships for $6000 persemester for Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Technology students who are pursuing aneducational emphasis in nuclear power and who desire to contribute to the design, construction,operation or regulation of the nation’s nuclear facilities. Recruiting for the nuclear-relatedworkforce, particularly among traditionally underrepresented minorities, is of vital importance toboth the economic future and security of the nation. The proposed effort also includes acollaborative enhancement program between (….) and (….) to help in recruiting, mentoring andmarketing efforts for the students in the fields of nuclear power, science and health physics. Thispaper presents Year I efforts and the results in terms of outreach and recruiting at (….).For several years it has been projected that the current nuclear industry will soon be facing amanpower crisis due to attrition within its “soon-to-be-retiring” workforce. Furthermore, it hasbecome clear that national security issues demand an expanded, not a contracted, nuclear powerindustry. Estimates for the number of nuclear industry workers that will be needed in the nearfuture have shown that we must recruit many more individuals than we have recruited in recentyears, and that imperative, in turn, demands that a concerted effort must be placed on recruitingindividuals from non-traditional sources. Our university is designated as Hispanic ServingInstitution (HSI). Such students have historically not entered careers in nuclear power and are,therefore, exactly the students we should be targeting today.To that end, an outreach and recruiting effort was carefully administered to target and attractstudents interested to be part of the nuclear related workforce in U.S. First, an outreach efforttargeting regional area public and private high school graduating seniors and existing students inthe university was organized to advertise and promote the scholarship program. This effortincluded high school visits and teacher networking, participation in college day fairs and internetposting through various websites. After months of effort in the middle of Japan’s Fukushimanuclear disaster, a total of seventeen applications were eventually received by April 1st deadline.Secondly, a scholarship selection committee was formed by the university faculty, staff and alocal industry representative to provide a fair selection process. The selection criteria includedactual class rank, SAT/ACT scores, financial need status, reference letters, essay writing skillsand whether the candidate being first generation US resident. Each committee members’rankings aggregated equally to figure out the overall student eligibility ranking.Finally, the candidates were contacted with official scholarship offer letters. The selection of fivecandidates out of top nine was realized in three rounds of contacting of two weeks of timeperiods. The recipients included four incoming freshmen and one existing university student.

Citation
Format

Karayaka, H. B., & Mehrubeoglu, M. (2013, June), Nuclear Workforce Development Scholarships and Enhancements Program Phase I: Outreach and Recruiting Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--22321

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -   Nuclear Workforce Development Scholarships and Enhancement Program                             Year I: Outreach and RecruitingFunded by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Workforce Development Scholarshipsand Enhancement Program at (…..) has been designed to provide five Scholarships for $6000 persemester for Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Technology students who are pursuing aneducational emphasis in nuclear power and who desire to contribute to the design, construction,operation or regulation of the nation’s nuclear facilities. Recruiting for the nuclear-relatedworkforce, particularly among traditionally underrepresented minorities, is of vital importance toboth the economic future and security of the nation. The proposed effort also includes acollaborative enhancement program between (….) and (….) to help in recruiting, mentoring andmarketing efforts for the students in the fields of nuclear power, science and health physics. Thispaper presents Year I efforts and the results in terms of outreach and recruiting at (….).For several years it has been projected that the current nuclear industry will soon be facing amanpower crisis due to attrition within its “soon-to-be-retiring” workforce. Furthermore, it hasbecome clear that national security issues demand an expanded, not a contracted, nuclear powerindustry. Estimates for the number of nuclear industry workers that will be needed in the nearfuture have shown that we must recruit many more individuals than we have recruited in recentyears, and that imperative, in turn, demands that a concerted effort must be placed on recruitingindividuals from non-traditional sources. Our university is designated as Hispanic ServingInstitution (HSI). Such students have historically not entered careers in nuclear power and are,therefore, exactly the students we should be targeting today.To that end, an outreach and recruiting effort was carefully administered to target and attractstudents interested to be part of the nuclear related workforce in U.S. First, an outreach efforttargeting regional area public and private high school graduating seniors and existing students inthe university was organized to advertise and promote the scholarship program. This effortincluded high school visits and teacher networking, participation in college day fairs and internetposting through various websites. After months of effort in the middle of Japan’s Fukushimanuclear disaster, a total of seventeen applications were eventually received by April 1st deadline.Secondly, a scholarship selection committee was formed by the university faculty, staff and alocal industry representative to provide a fair selection process. The selection criteria includedactual class rank, SAT/ACT scores, financial need status, reference letters, essay writing skillsand whether the candidate being first generation US resident. Each committee members’rankings aggregated equally to figure out the overall student eligibility ranking.Finally, the candidates were contacted with official scholarship offer letters. The selection of fivecandidates out of top nine was realized in three rounds of contacting of two weeks of timeperiods. The recipients included four incoming freshmen and one existing university student.
AU  - Hayrettin B Karayaka
AU  - Mehrube Mehrubeoglu
CY  - Atlanta, Georgia
DA  - 2013/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Nuclear Workforce Development Scholarships and Enhancements Program Phase I: Outreach and Recruiting
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/22321
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--22321
ER  -