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BISMARCK -- Bismarck State College’s National Energy Center of Excellence is adding a new online simulator to its Nuclear Power Technology Program.
The Nuclear Pressurized Water Reactor online simulator is designed to operate like a nuclear plant.
The development was funded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with a grant of $100,000.
The design of the simulator was based off a simulator BSC was working on for its power plant students.
BSC is the first college to create an online simulator for nuclear power students.
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The nuclear power program, founded in 2003, is only offered to online students, which influenced the decision to build the online simulator.
“We can teach the theory very well,” said Greg Lugar, assistant professor at the NECE. “But they don’t get the feel. They don’t get the hands-on. This bridges the gap.”
Lugar said the program allows the students to work on a generic version of a nuclear power plant and the interaction will help them learn how to put the theory into practice before their first job.
“It helps you give that high-quality education to students,” Lugar said.
The students will use the simulator each semester of the two-year nuclear program.
The first students will use it in about a week, Lugar said.
The program has 34 students.
The Bismarck Tribune is in a media partnership with Forum News Service.
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