Challenges and Opportunities for Todays Math and Science Teachers and Students

1
Challenges and Opportunities for Todays Math and
Science Teachers and Students

• Timothy J. LeahyDirector, INL Nuclear Safety
  and Regulation Division

2
World Energy Demand Continues to Significantly
Increase
The increase is projected to be about 55 quads in
industrialized countries alone over the next 25
years 1 quad is a mile-long coal train (11,000
tons) every 2 hours 24-7 for a year
Source EIA IEO 2004
3
World Energy Demand Crisis

• Human Infrastructure
• 2001 NEI survey indicated the U.S. nuclear
  industry, as a whole, will need roughly 90,000
  new employees over the next 10 years to sustain
  current industry activity levels.1
• The Nuclear Energy Institutes Feb. 2006 survey
  showed nuclearenergy companiesmay lose
  anestimated 23,000workers over thenext five
  years, 40percent of all jobs inthe sector.2
• Source NEI

4
Math and Science Education

• From 1994-2001, enrollment in science and
  engineering graduate programs by United States
  citizens declined ten percent.
• Enrollments of foreign graduate students
  increased nearly 35 percent in U.S. universities.
• United States minorityenrollment increasedfrom
  22 to 35 percent,the 26 percent dropamong white
  men and9 percent drop amongwhite women drove
  theoverall decline.
• Source National Science Foundation

5
Math and Science Education

• The percentages of twelfth-grade students
  performing at or above the levels of Basic, at or
  above Proficient, and at Advanced were lower in
  2005 than in 1996.
• Source Http//nationsreportcard.gov

Trend in twelfth-grade NAEP science
achievement-level performance
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Education/Job Outlook

• All types of financial aid for Science and
  Engineering graduate students have increased over
  the last 20 years.1
• There are more jobs than ever before
• From 1998-2001, Westinghouse hired 200 engineers
  directly out of college. The company expected to
  hire another 80 in 2002.2

7
Education/Job Outlook

• The percentage of 24-year-olds in the United
  States with a science or engineering degree (5.7
  percent) is nearly half that of Taiwan (11.1
  percent), South Korea (10.9 percent) and the
  United Kingdom (10.7 percent).1
• By the end of 2008, it is predicted that some six
  million jobs requiring math and science skills
  will go unfilled simply because American youth
  wont be qualified to hold them.2

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Opportunities

• Space NewHorizons/Nuclear Moon
• World Energy Crisis
• Next Generation NuclearPower Plants
• GNEP

9
New Horizons/The Moon

• Jan 19, 2006 New Horizons Launch to Pluto
• Exploration of the unknown
• ARES I V to the moon to stay
• Crew transportation
• 2014
• First lunar excursion
• Est. 2020
• Source NASA

10
NASA

• Average age of NASA workers and years of federal
  service

11
World Energy Crisis
Source EIA IEO 2004
12
The World at Night
13
NGNP

• The Next Generation Nuclear Plant
• Will be built earliest in 2011
• Need for people toprovide power foreveryday
  life.
• TVs, computers,cars, lights,electricity

14

• Global Nuclear Energy Partnership
• Need for international cooperation of
  engineers/scientists to provide power for
  everyone. Urgent need for pursuit of energy
  future.
• Main objective is to counter proliferation
  concerns, but will have effect of much greater
  resource utilization.
• Includes call for small-scale reactors for less
  developed countries to access affordable,
  reliable and sustainable power.

15
Need for Small Reactors

• Designed for less developed countries with
  minimal nuclear power production infrastructure.
  Allows these nations to access affordable,
  reliable and sustainable power
• 50 350 MWe range
• Proliferation resistant andsimple design
  minimalin-country infrastructure
• Electrical generationand potential for
  potablewater production

16
The Nuclear Option

• Nuclear is not the only option to alleviate our
  energy concerns, but we cannot succeed without
  it.
• Combination of electricity and Hydrogen
  production NGNP.
• Power generation is the power of the next
  generation.