Managing Nuclear Technology
Course facts
- Payment: Free, no certificate
- Credits: Non Credit
- Learning style: Self-paced, start anytime
- Resources: Lecture Notes; Problem Set Solutions; Problem Sets
- Before you start: No formal prerequisites.
MIT OpenCourseWare details
- As taught in: Spring 2004
- Department: Nuclear Science and Engineering, Engineering Systems Division
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Engineering economics for nuclear power: project evaluation, fuel cycle costs, waste, proliferation and policy, with lecture notes and solved problem sets.
Whether a nuclear plant makes sense depends on money as much as on physics, and this class gives engineers financial tools for the question. It examines economic and policy issues in the electric power industry, especially nuclear power and its fuel cycle. Discounted cash flow and other engineering economics methods are then applied to waste management and weapons proliferation.
What You Will Achieve
- Read balance sheets and apply the time value of money
- Calculate levelized product cost and carrying charges
- Evaluate projects under uncertainty
- Assess the economics of enrichment and reprocessing
Program Overview
Engineering Economics
The financial tools used throughout.
- Inflation and capital costs
- Depreciation, capital recovery and taxes
- Methods for project evaluation
- Cost of capital
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Applying those tools to nuclear power.
- Material balances and simple cost models
- An enrichment case study
- Reprocessing and MOX recycle
Policy and the Future
Risks and public questions.
- Nonproliferation, safeguards and export controls
- Externalities, accounting and regulation
- Nuclear waste management
- Risk perceptions and public attitudes
Course Completion
Job Outlook
These skills are relevant to nuclear industry management, energy economics, power project evaluation and energy policy.
Good for: Graduate students and advanced undergraduates in engineering who want to evaluate energy projects financially and join nuclear policy debates.
Keep in mind: It dates from 2004, so costs and policy references are of that time. Some problem sets come from the Park and Sharp-Bette textbook, which you must get, and no videos are listed.
Bottom line: A practical bridge between engineering and finance, with notes and solved problem sets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What textbook and reading is used?
Advanced Engineering Economics by Park and Sharp-Bette, along with The Future of Nuclear Power, a 2003 study group report, and class notes.
How is the work assessed?
The schedule shows six problem sets, two quizzes and term project presentations in the final two sessions. Solutions to the problem sets are provided.
Does it cover deregulation?
Yes. Deregulation and restructuring in the electric power industry are among the topics, alongside the links between nuclear energy and proliferation resistance.
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