Programming in a Revived Program Option: “Training the Nuclear Programmer”

Abstract

Python has been blended into an introductory Nuclear Engineering course to provide industry- relevant training for final year, undergraduate students. As programming is a cumulative skill, a lack of consistent, mandated practice in the current Chemical Engineering curriculum has created a knowledge gap. While ad hoc workshops are useful, a more rigorous incorporation of programming into upper year courses is needed. Although the nuclear industry largely relies on Fortran for numerically intensive codes, modern languages such as Python have an important role in automating tasks and data processing. This presents the need for the “nuclear programmer” Students completing a Nuclear Power program option would benefit from combining technical knowledge and programming fundamentals (logic, variable use, loops, etc.) to solve problems.

A three-stage gradual approach was used: Background Readings (BRs) for self-study (fundamental concepts and worked code examples), low-stakes, formative Coding Exercises (CEs), with a more advanced problem from the BRs, and lastly, a coding component to the core Assignments. Each level presents examples relevant to course topics. Metrics for implementation of programming include the student’s perceived difficulty of each stage and the change in comfort level with reading and writing code, where data were obtained from student surveys.