Carrying the grand mission of supporting China’s newly established nuclear industry, our discipline was founded in 1958. The discipline has been supporting China’s nuclear industry along every key steps of its growth and has made significant achievements. The discipline was among the first disciplines to be granted the qualification to confer master’s degrees in 1981 and doctoral degrees in 1986. In 2003, the dicipline became first class discipline doctoral site and was granted qualification to establish first class dicipline postdoctoral research station. In 2007, the second class discipline of nuclear energy science and engineering was certified as the national key discipline. In 2012, the discipline was awarded the Innovation Team of the Education Ministry. In 2014, the discipline was certified to establish the State Virtual Reality Center of Nuclear Power and Coal Power Plants. In 2015, the discipline was granted qualification to establish provincial key laboratory and engineering research center of Shaanxi province. In addition, the discipline is qualified as the second class characteristic discipline under the state Ministry of Education, the national defence characteristic discipline and Shaanxi province distinguished discipline.According to the research center of scientific evaluation of China, the discipline is ranked national number one in its undergraduate discipline of nuclear engineering and technology and national number two in the nuclear engineering category discipline.
1. Missions and Orientations
With China’s current transition from a big nuclear state to a powerful nuclear state, grand challenges and needs for both professional talents and mature technology arise. In order to address these needs, our discipline has been aiming at solving cutting-edge problems at the international academic frontier in the field of nuclear science and technology. Through improving its training system for innovative talents, enhancing its research capabilities on addressing critical and fundamental scientific issues in nuclear science and technology andtackling industry wide key technological problems, the discipline strives to build a nuclear science and technology discipline that is top tier internationally across all research areas and leading globally in reactor physics and thermohydraulics research areas.The discipline also sets its goal to become a high ground for both conducting cutting-edge academic research and addressing key industrial technology issues and an incubator for high level talents. Overall, the discipline seeks to provide innovative talents, excellent technological supports and original ideas for the sustained growth of China’s nuclear science and technology.
2. Superiorities and Features
a. Long history, solid foundation, distinguished talents: The discipline was smong the first in China to establish the major of nuclear science and technology. The disciplinary areas of nuclear reactor physics, reactor thermohydraulics and reactor control were initially founded, and they continued to grow until today. The discipline has a group of renowned scholars whose influence spread across the country and abroad. These scholars include six members of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Engineering (adjunct professors), one member of Canadian Academy of Sicences, three national 1000 talent scholars and one national young 1000 talent scholar, one Chang Jiang Scholar, one National Outstanding Young Scholars Fund receiver, one National Excellent Young Scholars Fund receiver and five new century excellent talent scholars, etc. 97% of our faculty members had at least one year’s research experience abroad; More than 80% of our faculty members are under the age of 45. Our faculty team is well structured in terms of its coverage in various research areas and is filled with young blood continuously, thus exhibiting a strong potential for future growth.
b. Nurturing environments, excellent graduates, rigorous academic attitudes, world-renowed reputation: Through near 60 years’ continued developmental efforts, the discipline has built its unique and innovative education system which encompasses undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D level programs. These programs have produced 35 postdoctoral scholars, more than 150 doctoral degree holders, more than 600 master’s degree holders, more than 100 engineering master’s degree holders and more than 2800 bachelor degree holders, 95% of whom work in the nuclear industry after their graduation and made significant contributions to China’s nuclear industry. In addition, more than 3000 key technical personnels from all major nuclear coporates have been trained under the programs. These programs have also cultivated many distinguished industry leaders including chief designers of several advanced mainstream reactor types (such as Hua Long I, CAP series PWRs and fast reactors), leaders of major nuclear coporates, directors of multiple nuclear energy research institutes, general managers of nuclear power plants, deans of school of nuclear science and technology and disciplinary leaders in multiple universities and trustees in the World Nuclear Association. The discipline has also educated a large amount of hardworking and responsible technical staff who are working in the front line of the nuclear industry of China, winning a unique reputation for the “nuclear people” from Xi’an Jiaotong University. At the same time, the discipline has gained widespread appraisals both domestically and internationally.
c. Cutting-edge research, engineering oriented, leading innovations: Aiming at the country’s significant nuclear energy developmental needs, the faculties and scholars under the discipline have conducted in-depth research on the key fundamental issues of the mainstream thrid generation nuclear reactors such as Hua Long I and the CAP series, etc, and tackled key technological problems such as prevention and mitigation of servere accidents, design technology validation of the steam generator and cavit radiation streaming,etc. In addition, the discipline has made oustanding contributions in the development of China’s proprietary softwares for reactor design and safety analysis. The discipline was also cutting-edge in its research on the reactor core design and safety analysis for the next generation nuclear systems including sodium-cooled fast reactor, molten salt reactor, supercritical water-cooled reactor, ADS, and fusion reactors, etc. On the research of reactor fuel breeding and nuclear waste transmutation, the discipline has developed its unique capabilities and techniques and provided solid supports to the development of the closed fuel-cycle strategy of China. The discipline has also made significant efforts in developing technologies that address technical problems in diagnosis and measurements of radiation field, light mass radiation protection materials, space radiation effects, nuclear logging and accelorator mass spectrometry and achieved renowned reputations domestically. During the period of this evaluation, the discipline has been granted two 863 national research programs, seven national major research programs, two National Science Foundation major research plan projects, one ITER domestic research program and more than two hundred provincial and ministerial research projects with total granted funds reaching 0.25 Billion RMB (in which funds worth of 0.18 Billion RMB have been received). More than 800 research articles have been published including 6 ESI articles, 240 SCI articles. More than 30 patents and more than 50 authorships of sofewares have been granted.
3). Caltivation goals:
The discipline has set its caltivation goals as producing, within the field of nuclear science and technology of China, industry leaders, innovative scholars, engineers and technicians who have solid knowledge base, outstanding technical capabilities, global visions and innovative mindsets. The graduates from the discipline can take job positions in nuclear corporates, research institutes, nuclear regulatory ministries and departments and universities. The discipline has developed its unique education system caltivating talents with solid foundation, wide adaptivity and strong capabilities and development potential, gaining high appraisals from the nuclear industry.
4. Disciplinary areas:
Towards addressing the strategical needs for the development of nuclear energy and nuclear technology of China, led by the grand missions of scientific research, oriented for producing key outcomes of fundamental research, and aiming at broadening its coverage and strengthening its innovation, the discipline has established the following disciplinary areas:
a. Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems Design and Safety:the deployment of specific disciplines iscentered by the areas of advanced nuclear systems design coupling reactor physics and thermohydraulics, and nuclear reactor safety analysis, key equipment and facility design and service performance analysis for advanced nuclear systems, accident analysis and mitigation strategy for nuclear reactors and key technology and methods for Generation IV and advanced reactor concepts.
b. Nuclear Fuel Breeding and Transmutation, and Nuclear Materials:the deployment of specific disciplines iscentered by the areas of evolution principles and mechanisms of material microstructure under the nuclear reactor environments, advanced methods for spent fuel processing, high performance materials for advanced nuclear systems and material radiation effects.
c. Radiation Physics and Technology:the deployment of specific disciplines iscentered by the areas of measurements and diagnosis of radiation fields, applications of accelorator mass spectrometry, compact neutron source, radiation effects, radiation shielding materials design, biological effects of radiation and assessments of radiation environments.
5. Domestic and International Influence:
The faculties under the discipline have taken important positions such as member of the disciplinary assessment committee (nuclear science and technology) under the State Council and associate director of the nuclear science and technology education advisory board, etc. All core courses of the discipline are either national level or provincial level excellent courses. Important textbooks developed by the faculty members have been widely used by other universities across the country. The education system of the discipline has been taken as an excellent reference case by other universities as well. Thus, the discipline has provided an excellent example for the Chinese universities and played a leadership role. In addition, the discipline has established joint research centers and training centers with major nuclear coporates. Through these, the discipline has maintained significant influences over the nuclear industry of China.
Under the discipline, the school of nuclear science and technology has initiated and hosted more than 10 important international conferences including ICONE18 (2010), ISACC (2013, 2015), China-Japan Advanced Symposium of Nuclear Science and Technology (2008, 2011, 2014), International Meeting of Union for Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Sources（2016）etc. In the past 4 years, the faculty members and scholars from the discipline have given more than 30 invited presentations in international conferences. Faculty members from the discipline have taken positions of Progress in Nuclear Energy chief editor, ASME-JNERS associate chief editor and editorial board member, and ANS program committee members of the reactor physics and thermohydraulics divisions for 17 person-times. 6 (person-times) out ofthe 11 Chinese scholars (person-times) who serve as editors or editorial board members for the four international journals in the field of nuclear engineering under the Elsevier publishing group (ANE, NED, PNE and NET) are from the discipline.
Contact: Teacher Chu
nuclear@xjtu.edu.cn
chutianshu17@xjtu.edu.cn
