Nuclear undergraduate programs at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Currently Canada has 18 operational CANDU (CANada-Deuterium-Uranium) nuclear power plants, comprising of two units each at Pickering A and Bruce A, and four units at each of the Pickering B Bruce B and Darlington sites- Two of the Bruce A units are under refurbishment and the two remaining Pickering A units are in voluntary lay-up. The generating capacity and in-service dates of these units are given in reference. The first of these units, at Pickering, came into service in 1971, and have already undergone major refurbishment that is designed to extend the operating life of these units to 50 years. The commitment to refurbish the Bruce A units will have these reactors operational well into the 2030s, at a projected cost of 4.25 billion Canadian dollars. The Government of Ontario has recently announced its intent to have the present share of electricity generation from nuclear plants (∼51%) maintained, implying the need to refurbish all the currently operating units in Ontario, as well as to construct new nuclear units. The two CANDU power plants operating outside Ontario are also expected to have their operating lives extended. Estimates for all these projects range from 20 to 40 billion Canadian dollars. The large projected increases in expenditures in Canada's nuclear industry comes at a time when most of the people involved in the design and operation of the currently operating units are reaching retirement age, or have already retired. Ontario Power Generation, which operates the Pickering and Darlington nuclear electric generating stations, has been hiring in the order of 100 engineers per year and plans to continue at that space for several more years. Recognizing this demand, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), which is located within 25 kilometres of the Pickering and Darlington plants, initiated undergraduate honours degree programs in nuclear engineering and science. (author)