# Presentation: 822510

## Challenges and Opportunities for Today’s Math and Science Teachers and Students

**Timothy J. Leahy****Director, INL Nuclear Safety and Regulation Division**

**Notes:**
Main Idea is that nuclear is needed, exciting things are happening and you and your students can be a part of it. -Teri

## World Energy Demand Continues to Significantly Increase

**World Energy Demand Continues to Significantly Increase**

*Source: EIA IEO 2004*

***The increase is projected to be about 55 quads in industrialized countries alone over the next 25 years***
***1 quad is a mile-long coal train (11,000 tons) every 2 hours 24-7 for a year***

**Notes:**
Click once and the train image will appear.

## World Energy Demand Crisis

**Human Infrastructure**
**2001 NEI survey indicated the U.S. nuclear industry, as a whole, will need roughly 90,000 new employees over the next 10 years to sustain current industry activity levels.****1**
**The Nuclear Energy Institute’s Feb. 2006 survey showed nuclear****energy companies****may lose an****estimated 23,000****workers over the****next five years,  40****percent of all jobs in****the sector.****2**
**	****Source: NEI**

## Math and Science Education

**From 1994-2001, enrollment in science and engineering graduate programs by United States citizens declined ten percent.**
**Enrollments of foreign graduate students increased nearly 35 percent in U.S. universities.**
**United States minority****enrollment increased****from 22 to 35 percent,****the 26 percent drop****among white men and****9 percent drop among****white women drove the****overall decline.**
**	**Source: National Science Foundation

## Math and Science Education

**The percentages of twelfth-grade students performing at or above the levels of *****Basic*****, at or above *****Proficient*****, and at *****Advanced***** were lower in 2005 than in 1996.**
- 		Source: Http://nationsreportcard.gov

| Assessment year | Below Basic |  | At or above Basic |  | At or above Proficient |  | At Advanced |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 1996 | 43% | * | 57% | * | 21% | * | 3% | * |
| 2000 | 48% |  | 52% |  | 18% |  | 2% |  |
| 2005 | 46% |   | 54% |   | 18% |   | 2% |   |
| * Significantly different from 2005. |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. View complete data with standard errors for grade 12.  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

**Trend in twelfth-grade NAEP science achievement-level performance**

## Education/Job Outlook

**All types of financial aid for Science and Engineering graduate students have increased over the last 20 years.**1
**There are more jobs than ever before:**
**From 1998-2001, Westinghouse hired 200 engineers directly out of college. The company expected to hire another 80 in 2002.**2

| 1983-2003 |   | 1998-2003 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 58% increase |   | 19% increase   |

## Education/Job Outlook

**The percentage of 24-year-olds in the United States with a science or engineering degree (5.7 percent) is nearly half that of Taiwan (11.1 percent), South Korea (10.9 percent) and the United Kingdom (10.7 percent).**1
**By the end of 2008, it is predicted that some six million jobs requiring math and science skills will go unfilled simply because American youth won’t be qualified to hold** **them.**2

**Notes:**
1) (Sivy, Michael, Carolyn Bigda, et. al. “What the Election Really Means to You.” Money Magazine. October 2004, p. 122. 11 According to the Trends)
2) (According to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS))

## Opportunities

**Space – New****Horizons/Nuclear Moon**
**World Energy Crisis**
**Next Generation Nuclear****Power Plants**
**GNEP**

## New Horizons/The Moon

**Jan 19, 2006 New Horizons Launch to Pluto**
**Exploration of the unknown**
**ARES I & V – to the moon to stay**
**Crew transportation**
**2014**
**First lunar excursion**
**Est. 2020**
**	**Source: NASA

## NASA

**Average age of NASA workers and years of federal service**

**Notes:**
There are very real needs to be met in the future. Serious discrepancy in ages with an extremely high average age. Young scientists will be given a chance.

## World Energy Crisis

**World Energy Crisis**

*Source: EIA IEO 2004*

## The World at Night

**Notes:**
Click once and the picture will appear.

## NGNP

**The Next Generation Nuclear Plant**
**Will be built earliest in 2011**
**Need for people to****provide power for****everyday life.**
**TVs, computers,****cars, lights,****electricity**

**Notes:**
Click once and the image will appear.

**Global Nuclear Energy Partnership**
**Need for international cooperation of engineers/scientists to provide power for everyone. Urgent need for pursuit of energy future.**
**Main objective is to counter proliferation concerns, but will have effect of much greater resource utilization.**
**Includes call for small-scale reactors for less developed countries to access affordable, reliable and sustainable power.**

## Need for Small Reactors

**Need for Small Reactors**

**Designed for less developed countries with minimal nuclear power production infrastructure. Allows these nations to access affordable, reliable and sustainable power**
**50 – 350 MWe range**
**Proliferation resistant and****simple design = minimal****in-country infrastructure**
**Electrical generation****and potential for potable****water production**

## The Nuclear Option

**Nuclear is **_**not**_** the only option to alleviate our energy concerns, but we **_**cannot**_** succeed without it.**
**Combination of electricity  and Hydrogen production – NGNP.**
***Power generation***** is the power of the *****next generation*****.**