Nuclear is growing on every front in Wisconsin!
This fall, the department’s incoming class has grown again with nearly 50 new nuclear engineering students and 20 new engineering physics students from around the state and across the country. With three years of rapid growth, class sizes are growing, and we are thinking about important lab renovations to help us ensure the outstanding educational experience that our students have come to expect. Since many of those students arrive with an excitement for exploring fusion energy, we are launching a new fusion plasma focus area. Students following this pathway will swap three courses to better align their course plan with this fusion interest.
We also have a growing faculty cohort, welcoming Sébastien Philippe this semester and JungHyun Bae in January 2026. Together, these faculty will give our department a new presence in radiation detection with applications in arms control, international safeguards and nuclear fuel cycles. Combined with the recent tenure and promotion of Juliana Pacheco Duarte, Benedikt Geiger and Yongfeng Zhang to associate professors, we are well positioned to continue our excellence across a diverse research portfolio.
Some of our new student interest may correlate with growing interest in nuclear energy among Wisconsin policy makers. In July, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed two pieces of bipartisan legislation aimed at helping the state catch up to many others in exploring nuclear energy. One bill calls on the state’s Public Service Commission to conduct a siting study, identifying potential sites for new nuclear energy facilities in the coming years. The other asks the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to host a global nuclear energy summit. Both place an emphasis on how Wisconsin’s manufacturing sector can develop a role in the nuclear supply chain and consider both fission and fusion energy in their scope.
It’s an exciting time for nuclear energy in Wisconsin, and NEEP is rising to the challenge!
On, Wisconsin!
Paul Wilson
Department Chair
Grainger Professor of Nuclear Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison