S.C. State puts a spark in their engineering program with new power plant center

Image: S.C. State University

Image: S.C. State University

Orangeburg, S.C. (WOLO) — South Carolina State University is putting a spark in the futures of some of their students educational experience with the help of a new center for their Nuclear Engineering Program. In a partnership with NuScale Power, S.C. State has opened the NuScale Energy Exploration (E2) Center. The new location is a simulated control that is identical the an actual advanced nuclear power plant giving students a chance to get a hands on learning experience in the field of nuclear systems and plant operations.

President Alexander Conyers released a statement saying,

“This is an exciting moment for SC State,” ..“The NuScale Energy Exploration Center gives our students a front-row seat to the future of clean energy. It’s not every day you get to bring a virtual nuclear reactor into the classroom. That kind of access can spark curiosity, open career paths, and change lives.”

School officials say S.C. State is the only university in the statewide, and the only historically Black college or university in the nation that currently give their students a chance to get a four year degree in nuclear engineering.  The new state of the art center is fully operational and students and staff alike say it’s a great way to learn using he same technology they will encounter in the energy industry. There are only 10 centers like this in the entire world, and now one of them is located on the SCSU’s campus and the only center of its kind in the state of South Carolina.