South Carolina State University Is Expanding Nuclear Engineering Access, And This Student Is Already Showing What’s Possible

South Carolina State University students can now train to operate an advanced nuclear reactor without leaving campus. The university has opened a NuScale Energy Exploration (E2) Center, a simulated nuclear control room designed to mirror operations inside an advanced nuclear power plant. According to a press release from SC State’s Office of University Relations, the center is one of only 10 of its kind worldwide and the only one in South Carolina. The development expands access at an institution already holding a unique position in nuclear education. SC State is the only HBCU in the nation, and the only institution in South Carolina, offering a four-year nuclear engineering degree, according to the Office of University Relations press release. For students like senior nuclear engineering major Jamal Wigfall, that education is already translating into experience inside the industry. According to a separate SC State press release, the 21-year-old Mobile, AL, native recently served as a corporate radiation protection intern with Constellation Energy at Dresden Generating Station in Morris, IL. His experience offers a glimpse into the type of work SC State’s new simulator is designed to help more students prepare for. Inside SC State’s Reactor Simulator The centerpiece of the E2 Center is NuScale’s Small Modular Reactor simulator, which uses computer modeling to replicate advanced nuclear plant operations. “Through interactive training, students learn to operate a reactor,…