Event Date
Friday, November 30, 2012: 4 to 5 PM EST

Abstract

A trip through the parallel spacetime continuums of the Michigan Department of Nuclear Engineering, the nuclear power industry, and the meandering career of a former nuclear engineering professor, former engineering dean, former university provost, has-been university president, and current science policy wonk…

Bio
Dr. James J. Duderstadt is President Emeritus, Professor of Nuclear Engineering and University Professor of Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. He specializes in nuclear reactor theory and design (both fission and fusion), radiation transport theory, kinetic theory and statistical mechanics, interaction of intense laser and particle beams with plasmas, inertial confinement fusion, energy systems analysis, computer simulation and networking. According to Duderstadt:

“The UM nuclear engineering program was the first such department in the U.S. (possibly in the world) and continues to be ranked very highly (currently #1 in USN&WR). However its greatest strength is its very unusual intellectual breadth, which gives students a great deal of flexibility in following their interests in almost any direction. The department has hired some exciting new faculty over the past two years that have added even more opportunities.

“Although I occasionally teach a special topics course in the department, and they still use one of my textbooks, I’m afraid that my activities these days are more at the policy level. (Actually, I direct the University’s program in science, technology, and public policy.) However since my office is right next door, I do keep an eye on the program to make certain it continues to thrive, and I’m always available to meet with and help out students.

“You can get a better sense of my current interests from the website of my research center, the Millennium Project.“

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