Many companies in Virginia have an interest in nuclear power, an industry that has been near-dormant in the country for about 30 years. However, the possibility of a new focus on nuclear power will require companies to begin recruiting new engineers.
In the past year, according to an article by the Daily Progress, many state colleges and universities have increased their response to a potential need for more engineers, specifically on a nuclear level. The University of Virginia used to have undergraduate and graduate programs in nuclear engineering, as well as a research reactor on campus until the mid-1990s.
“Nuclear energy was going to power every aspect of our life,” Bill Hall, who worked at Duke Energy in Charlotte, North Carolina for 30 years and now teaches at the University, said in the article.