Dec 15, 2025  
2025-2026 Graduate Catalog 
    
2025-2026 Graduate Catalog

Nuclear Engineering


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Nuclear Engineering website

Brian Wirth, Head
Jamie Coble, Associate Head
Brian Wirth, Director of Graduate Studies

Professors
Brown, N.R. (Pietro Pasqua Fellow), PhD – Purdue
Coble, J.B. (Southern Company Fellow), PhD – Tennessee
Donovan, D., (Zinkle Fellow), PhD – Wisconsin
Hall, H.L., PhD – California (Berkeley)
Hayward, J.P. (UCOR Fellow), PhD – Michigan
Heilbronn, L.H. (John D. Tickle Professor), PhD – Michigan State
Lang, M.K. (Pietro Pasqua Fellow), PhD – University of Heidelberg (Germany)
Lukosi, E. (Charles P. Postelle Professor), PhD – Missouri (Columbia)
Maldonado, G.I., PhD – North Carolina State
Wirth, B.D. (Governor’s Chair Professor), PhD – California (Santa Barbara)
Zinkle, S. (Governor’s Chair Professor), PhD – Wisconsin

Associate Professors
Hattar, K., PhD – Illinois
Popovs, I. (Pietro Pasqua Fellow), PhD – Houston
Sobes, V. (Charles P. Postelle Professor), PhD – Massachussets Institute of Technology

Assistant Professors
Bobba, K.N., PhD – Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Coimbatore, India)
Bogetic, S., PhD – California (Berkeley)
Casali, L. (Zinkle Fellow), PhD – Ludwig-Maximilian (Germany)
Chaple Gore, I., PhD – Alabama (Birmingham)
Donaher, S., PhD – Clemson (Joint with Civil & Environmental Engineering)
Ivanov, A. (Nuclear Engineering Early Career Faculty Fellow), PhD – Utah State
Zhao, X., PhD – Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research Professors
Hines, J.W. (Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus), PhD – Ohio State
Melcher, C., PhD – California Institute of Technology
Mihalczo, J.T., PhD – Tennessee
Ruggles, A.E., PhD – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Research Associate Professors
Ang, C., PhD – Monash (Australia), (Joint with UT-ORII)
Yang, L., PhD – Chengdu (China), (Joint with UT-ORII)

Research Assistant Professors
Blondel, S., PhD – Paris-Sud University (France)
Chvala, O., PhD – Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic)
Davis, J., PhD – Idaho State
Dasgupta, D., PhD – Massachusetts (Amherst), (Joint with UT-ORII)
Ren, J., PhD – Chinese Academy of Sciences (China)
O’Quinn, E., PhD – Tennessee
Stand Stracuzzi, L., PhD – Tennessee
Wen, X., PhD – Oregon State

Professors of Practice
Lagdon, C., MEA – George Washington
Pevey, R.E., PhD, PE – Tennessee
Sedov, V., MS – Leningrad (Russia)

Joint Faculty
Gehin, J., PhD – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Katoh, Y., PhD – University of Tokyo (Japan)
Skutnik, S.E., PhD – North Carolina State
Stowe, A., PhD – Florida State

Adjunct Faculty
Anderson, B., PhD – University of Washington
Apostoaei, A.I., PhD – Tennessee
Arndt, S., PhD – Ohio State
Ayaz-Maierhafer, B., PhD – Istanbul Techinical University (Turkey)
Gribok, A., PhD – Moscow Institute of of Biological Physics (Russia)
Harrison, T.J., PhD – Tennessee
Hashemian, H., PhD – Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden)
Hedrick, S., PhD – Missouri (Columbia)
Howard, M., PhD – Tennessee
Howard, R., PhD – Tennessee
Maingi, R., PhD – North Carolina State
Osborne, D., PhD – Tennessee
Penchoff, D., PhD – Tennessee
Ramsey, C., PhD – Tennessee
Stainbach, J., PhD – Tennessee
Terrani, K., PhD – California (Berkeley)

Lecturers
LeBlanc, K., PhD – New Mexico State
Palmer, H., BA – Reed College
Ratliff, M., BS – Tennessee

Emeriti Faculty
Dodds, H.L., PhD, PE – Tennessee
Hines, J.W. (Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus), PhD – Ohio State
Miller, L.F., PhD, PE – Texas A&M
Townsend, L.W., PhD – Idaho
Upadhyaya, B.R., PhD, PE – California (San Diego)

Majors, Degrees
Medical Physics Major, MS  
Nuclear Engineering Major, MS  
  Nuclear Safety Concentration
  Radiological Engineering Concentration
Dual MS-MBA Program, Nuclear Engineering - Business Administration  
Nuclear Engineering Major, PhD  
  Nuclear Safety Concentration
  Nuclear Space Science and Engineering Concentration
  Radiological Engineering Concentration
Graduate Certificates
  Medical Physics Graduate Certificate  
  Nuclear Security Science and Analysis Graduate Certificate  


The Department of Nuclear Engineering offers programs leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees, and three Graduate Certificates. Students may elect a traditional nuclear engineering program focusing on fission energy or radiological engineering concentration program, which prepares students for careers in the radiation safety field (health or medical physics). Both programs are designed for graduates of accredited undergraduate programs in engineering, physics, chemistry, or mathematics.

All entering students pursuing a MS or PhD in NE must have, as a minimum, competency in mathematics through ordinary differential equations. Admitted applicants will be advised of any prerequisite undergraduate courses that may be required for their graduate studies. In addition, students without a BS in nuclear engineering, or the equivalent, must take NE 433 , NE 470  both of which may be taken for graduate credit.

The Graduate Certificate in Medical Physics requires applicants to have earned a PhD in an appropriate field such as Nuclear Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Physics, or other closely related science and engineering discipline.

Graduate Credit for Undergraduate Courses

The 400-level courses, listed in the Graduate Catalog, in nuclear engineering may be taken for graduate credit. However, at least two-thirds of the minimum required credit hours in the MS must be taken in courses numbered 500 or above.

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