Prospective Undergraduates
Welcome to The Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics (NERHP).
If you are a high school student planning your college career or a community college student looking to transfer, check out the undergraduate programs in OSU's Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics -- you may be pleasantly surprised.
OSU's Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics programs are consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally. We have a state-of-the-art facility and a dynamic faculty dedicated to providing you with an excellent engineering education.
Want to know more?
Top 10 Reasons to Check Out NERHP at OSU
The New Hot Job: Nuclear Engineering
What do Nuclear Engineers and Health Physicists Do?
What do Nuclear Engineers and Health Physicists Earn?
What is Radiation Health Physics?
What is Nuclear Engineering?
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What Do Nuclear Engineers and Health Physicists Do?
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Nuclear engineering is not just about power plants.
As a nuclear engineer, you may:
- Improve food safety, using radiation pasteurization
- Develop steady-state and pulsed-power plasma systems
- Design and build power systems for space exploration and propulsion
- Develop new ways to use radioisotopes for medical diagnostics and therapy
- Improve medical imaging
- Develop new ways to recycle spent fuel from nuclear reactors
- Enhance oil and gas exploration with radioisotopes
- Design methods to secure and verify excess nuclear weapons material
- Design, build and operate advanced power systems for the U.S. naval fleet
- Develop arms control and non-proliferation technologies
Health Physics is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards.
As a health physicist, you may:
- Use field sampling technologies to measure radioactivity in water, soil, and air
- Assess the environmental impact of released radioisotopes
- Design radiation-detection equipment
- Assists engineers and scientists in designing new radiation-control programs
- Provide radiation protection training and advice
- Measure and characterize radiation dosage for cancer treatment
- Help establish future rules and regulations regarding the manufacture, use, and disposal of radioactive material
- Recommend strategies for environmental cleanup
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Salaries of Nuclear Engineers and Health Physicists
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Most entry-level nuclear engineers can expect a starting salary somewhere in the mid-$50,000 range. Depending on location and type of employer, experienced nuclear engineers make $90,000 -$130,000 a year.
For Radiation Health Physicists, starting salaries are in the mid-$40,000 range. With 15 years experience, the average salary was $96,000. |
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What is Radiation Health Physics? |
Radiation Health Physics (RHP) is an interdisciplinary study of the physical aspects of radiation. Health physicists control the beneficial uses of radiation while protecting people and the environment from potential hazards.
The RHP program at OSU prepares students for professional careers in the field of radiation protection. Employment opportunities in the field include: federal, state, and local environmental protection agencies; medical companies; utility companies; hospitals; universities; national laboratories; and private consulting. Curriculum. |
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What is Nuclear Engineering?
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Nuclear engineers design, build and operate complex systems involving radiation and/or radioactive materials.
Employment opportunities in the field include: nuclear utilities; reactor and nuclear fuel vendors; national laboratories; universities; federal agencies (NASA, Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, etc.) and private consulting.
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