Georgia Tech’s nuclear engineering program is turning 50, and to celebrate, it’s hosting two days of discussion on nuclear energy’s past and future.

The NE 50th Anniversary Celebration will be held Nov. 1-2, and it will chart nuclear engineering’s history at Tech and examine what’s ahead. Most of the events will take place at the Klaus Advanced Computing Building, though there will be some off-campus functions as well.

The first day’s offering, Symposium on the Future of Nuclear Energy, will feature industry and government leaders from Southern Co., Westinghouse, the Department of Energy and elsewhere. They’ll reflect on nuclear power’s outlook in both the short-term and distant future, and moderators will include Dr. Farzad Rahnema, chair of Tech’s program.

The next day will focus on the Tech nuclear program’s history and will include remarks from some of its earliest graduates. Other speakers at the day’s event, titled Colloquium on the History and Contributions of NE at Georgia Tech, will review the Institute’s work in areas such as health physics.

Tech’s School of Nuclear Engineering was established in 1962, though the curriculum now falls under the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. The Institute offers undergraduates a bachelor’s degree in nuclear and radiological engineering. Graduate students may pursue a master’s or doctoral degree in either nuclear engineering or medical physics.

To participate in any of the anniversary activities, register online at ne50.gatech.edu. The symposium costs $30 to attend, but the colloquium is free. Attendees may also sign up for a banquet at the Georgian Terrace Hotel and a mixer at Einstein Bros. Bagels.