Oklo fuels growth of nuclear engineering at Ohio State
Investment will launch undergraduate nuclear engineering major
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The Ohio State University |
Advanced nuclear technology company Oklo is helping The Ohio State University expand and enhance its nuclear engineering program.
Oklo’s investment will facilitate the launch of an undergraduate nuclear engineering major, renovate instructional and research facilities, create an endowed professorship and support student scholarships. Together, the company’s support, gifts from its executives and university matching funds for scholarships will deliver a total impact of $4.5 million.
“Industry demand for nuclear engineers continues to grow, and Ohio State is expanding to meet that need,” said College of Engineering Interim Dean B. Shanker. “Oklo’s support will help us launch a new undergraduate major and give students access to the faculty, facilities and hands-on experience that prepare them to contribute from the start of their careers.”
Currently, only graduate students can earn a nuclear engineering degree at Ohio State. With Oklo’s support, the college will develop the undergraduate curriculum, hire additional faculty and modernize space and equipment for an anticipated autumn 2027 launch of an accredited nuclear engineering major.
The investment will also expand research capabilities at Ohio State’s Nuclear Reactor Laboratory, which has supported teaching and research on west campus since 1961. The university will rename the facility the Oklo Nuclear Reactor Laboratory.
In Scott Laboratory on main campus, Ohio State will create the Oklo Experiential Engineering Education Lab. The new lab will support capstone teams, hands-on build work, simulation and modeling, and interdisciplinary engineering projects.
“Ohio helped build America’s nuclear industry and the people of the Buckeye State will help lead its future,” said John Hanson, a native Ohioan and Ohio State alumnus who serves as corporate chief of staff and leads Oklo’s power business. “The next generation of nuclear engineers will turn the technologies we’re developing today into the reliable energy our country needs for decades to come. By expanding access to nuclear engineering education and hands-on research, Ohio State is preparing students to lead that work. Together, we’re connecting education with real-world opportunity, so students can put their knowledge to work building advanced nuclear technologies right here in Ohio.”
The Oklo Endowed Professorship in Nuclear Engineering will help Ohio State recruit and retain leading scholars in the field. Gifts from company executives will also establish two endowed scholarship funds to support nuclear engineering students: the Dr. John Hanson and Dr. Lindsey Pack Endowed Scholarship Fund and the Dr. Jacob DeWitte and Caroline Ann DeWitte Endowed Scholarship Fund in Nuclear Engineering.
