Nuclear Engineering Program
Welcome to the University of Florida Nuclear Engineering Program home page. Housed within the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering, the program offers students an opportunity to work on research teams related to backscatter radiation, extreme environments testing and nuclear fuel cycles. Students also conduct research alongside academics and in partnership with national labs and government agencies, including Idaho National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy.
At UF, we’re developing the next generation of nuclear engineering leaders by performing high-impact research and providing exceptional educational programs. We build on our unique strength as a department by combining the disciplines of both Nuclear Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering to benefit society locally, nationally and globally.
Faculty Research Areas
Nuclear technology and research contribute in multiple ways to our health, development and safety. You may not realize it, but it's utilized across nearly all aspects of our lives and community, from clean energy production to medicine to agriculture.
Find Out More Nuclear Engineering ProgramResearch Facilities
The Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering’s Research Service Centers support and enhance the research, education, and public service missions of the University of Florida by providing access to characterization and process instrumentation.
Find Out More Nuclear Engineering ProgramWhy Nuclear Engineering at UF?
At UF, we’re developing the next generation of nuclear engineering leaders by performing high-impact research and providing exceptional educational programs.
Find Out More Nuclear Engineering ProgramFaculty Research Areas
Nuclear technology and research contribute in multiple ways to our health, development and safety. You may not realize it, but it's utilized across nearly all aspects of our lives and community, from clean energy production to medicine to agriculture.
Find Out MoreNuclear Engineering ProgramNuclear Engineering Faculty
Ph.D., 2012, Texas A&M University
Research Interests: Nuclear Fuels and Materials, with emphasis on characterization and property evaluation; Mechanical and Thermal properties of materials; Reactor Irradiation; Radiation damage in materials; Ion Implantation; Kinetics; Composites; Nanostructured materials; Multi-Scale simulation of nuclear fuel.
Lab Website: MAterials for Nuclear Advancement and Technology in Extreme Environments (MANATEE) Group
Research Interests: Applied aspects of cargo monitoring, detector testing and characterization for gamma-ray spectroscopy, as well as development and analysis of techniques for environmental sampling and surveys related to on-site inspections.
Ph. D. Chalmers, University of Technology, Sweden
Research Interests: Nuclear safeguards, detection statistics of radiation from fissile materials, and the physics behind particle-detector interactions. Neutron physics & detectors. Neutron noise signals. Radiation signal analysis
Lab Website: Enqvist Research Group
Ph.D., 2018, University of Florida
Research Interests: Monte Carlo methods; neutron transport; nuclear safeguards and nonproliferation
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
Research Interests: Remote Sensing, Nuclear Nonproliferation/counterproliferation, Nuclear Security, and Nuclear Policy
Lab Website: Hartig Research Group
Ph.D., 2008, University of California San Diego
Research Interests: Computational and Theoretical Plasma Physics, Magnetic and Inertial Confinement Fusion, Plasma Turbulence, Momentum Transport, Runaway Electrons, Monte Carlo Methods
Lab Website: McDevitt Lab
Ph.D., 2009, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research Interests: Two-phase flow, nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics, quantitative visualization, nuclear reactor safety, computational and numerical methods including coupled codes, advanced nuclear power systems
Ph.D., 2008, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Research Interests: Computational materials science, Computational mechanics, Coevolution of microstructure and properties, Materials in Harsh Environments, Mesoscale modeling and simulation, Nuclear materials, Numerical methods
Lab Website: Tonks Research Group
Ph.D., 1993, University of Paris, XI
Research Interests: Radiochemistry, Nuclear Wastes, Nuclear Forensics, Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Environmental Behavior of Radionuclides
Lab Website: Wall Research
Ph.D., 2010, Penn State University
Research Interests: Reactor Kinetics and Dynamics, Neutronics, Thermal Hydraulics, Multiphysics Simulation, Advanced Numerical Methods, Applied Mathematics, Advanced Code Coupling Techniques, Scientific Software Development, High Performance Computing
Lab Website: Florida Advanced Multiphysics Modeling and Simulation (FAMMoS) Lab
Ph. D., 2005, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research Interests: structural and fuel materials for nuclear energy systems; LWRs sustainability and aging management; advanced fabrication and joining technologies; used fuel dry storage and disposition.
Lab Website: MAterials for Nuclear Advancement and Technology in Extreme Environments (MANATEE) Group
Other Nuclear Engineering Program News
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UF MSE and NE Graduate Programs Again Rank Among the Best
04/14/2022
The UF Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) and Nuclear Engineering Program (NE), housed within the department, are once again ranked among the best graduate school programs at public universities in the U.S.
According to the 2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools Ranking, the MSE graduate program rose one spot to No. ... -
UF Nuclear Engineering Program Secures Nearly $1.8 million in NEUP Awards
03/14/2022
The Department of Materials Science & Engineering’s Nuclear Engineering (NE) Program received three separate awards totaling approximately $1.8 million from the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP), part of the U.S. Department of Energy. NEUP awards fund research and development, scholarships, infrastructure upgrades and integrated research projects at universities and colleges nationwide.
Yellowjacket Upgrades
Michael Tonks, Ph.D., Alumni ... -
In Memoriam: Robert Hanrahan, Ph.D. (MSE, 1994)
03/11/2022
Robert Joseph Hanrahan, Jr. passed away on March 1st at UF Health Shands Hospital after a difficult four-month battle with an MRSA blood infection. He was 56 years old. Robert is survived by his beloved wife, Margie Foster; his mother, Mary Ellen Hanrahan; his sisters, Sheila Hanrahan Gibson (husband, Tom) and Pegeen Hanrahan (husband, Tony ... -
UF Alumnus Matthew Marzano Selected for ANS Congressional Fellowship
10/26/2021
The American Nuclear Society (ANS) has selected UF alumnus Matthew Marzano, M.S. ‘11, nuclear engineering, to serve as the 2022 Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow. Marzano is a senior reactor operator at Exelon Generation’s Braidwood nuclear power plant in Braidwood, Ill.
Established in 2000, the Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship, also known as the ANS Congressional Fellowship, ... -
Michael Tonks, Ph.D., promoted to Full Professor
08/16/2021
Dr. Michael Tonks received his Bachelor of Science in 2001 and Master of Science in 2002, both in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008. From 2009-2015, he worked as a Staff Scientist and Group Lead at the Idaho National Laboratory. ... -
Jacob DeWitte, Ph.D., Recognized with 2021 Distinguished Early Career Alumni Award
07/07/2021
Our 2021 Distinguished Early Career Alumni Award winner is Jacob DeWitte, Ph.D., a nuclear reactor developer commercializing next-generation fission power systems. Dr. DeWitte is a co-Founder and the CEO of Oklo, Inc., a Sunnyvale, California-based company developing and building small nuclear reactors.
Dr. DeWitte is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and completed his undergraduate studies at ... -
Department of Energy Award Helps Wall Create Better Long-term Nuclear Waste Storage
04/27/2021
The U.S. is the world’s largest nuclear power producer, with nearly 100 commercial power plants designed to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Nuclear energy is also the most reliable source of clean energy in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. But along with that clean, dependable power source ... -
In Memory of Dr. Edward Dugan, 1946-2021
02/05/2021
Edward T. Dugan, Ph.D., a University of Florida alumnus and Department of Materials Science & Engineering nuclear engineering professor emeritus, passed away on January 24th, 2021, at 74 years of age.
Dr. Dugan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He attended UF for graduate school, ... -
Baciak and Yang Selected as Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Awardees by College
02/04/2021
Congratulations to James Baciak, Ph.D., and Yong Yang, Ph.D., both recipients of the 2019-2020 Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
“I am truly honored to receive this award,” Dr. Yang said. “As a faculty member, I feel there is no greater reward than seeing my students be successful at UF and ... -
Nathalie Wall, Ph.D. Elected 2020 AAAS Fellow
11/25/2020
Professor Nathalie Wall, Ph.D., from the Department of Materials Science & Engineering’s Nuclear Engineering Program, is a newly elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
The AAAS recognizes distinguished scientific, engineering and innovation pioneers for their “achievements across disciplines, from research, teaching, and technology, to administration in academia, industry and government, ...