With the advent of commercial nuclear power reactors around the world during the early sixties, nuclear engineering emerged as a distinct and important branch of engineering and several universities in many industrialized and some developing countries introduced graduate and undergraduate courses in this discipline. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, being a major exporter of energy mainly in the form of crude oil, has shown an interest in all forms of energy including the peaceful applications of nuclear energy. The Department of Nuclear Engineering was established at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah in 1397H (1977G) initially offering only undergraduate courses. The B.S. Program was formulated to give a broad background in Nuclear Engineering with emphasis on (1) nuclear reactor engineering, (2) radiation protection and (3) isotope application engineering. The program was tailored to meet the present as well as future needs of nuclear engineers in Saudi Arabia, keeping in view the Kingdom's plan for application of nuclear science and technology particularly in the fields of energy, industry and medicine. Over the years the department grew to its present size with 13 academic staff members and 9 well-equipped laboratories. The Department has produced so far more than 150 graduates, many of whom have found employment at universities, research establishments, hospitals, government department utilities etc. The department started its M.Sc. program in 1407 (1987 G).
 

Aims and Objectives of Nuclear Engineering Department:

Nuclear energy and nuclear radiation have established themselves in our modern society in the form of many important applications in medicine, in industry, in the generation of electric power and in agriculture among other things. In view of the strategic importance of nuclear energy in our present world, the primary goal of the nuclear engineering department is the education of a sufficient number of Saudis in the discipline of nuclear engineering. It is believed much progress has been made in this regard, as evidenced by the large number of our graduates who are currently occupying many sensitive positions in various government departments as well as in the private sector.

The second goal of the department of nuclear engineering involves conducting studies and research geared towards servicing the developmental programs of the Kingdom. In this regard many such studies have been carried out so far and more are planned for the near future now that an M.S. program has been established in the department starting in the first semester of 1408.

The third goal of the department concerns itself with the training of physicians, engineers, physicists, chemists, and biologists as well as technicians working with ionizing radiations in various government departments, in the area of radiation protection. This is carried out through organizing seminars, workshops etc, at different levels of technical sophistication. So far, three workshops have been carried out and one of these was conducted in collaboration with the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The fourth goal of the department is to be able to render professional and competent service to various government departments as the need arises, as, for example, the technical service in the inspection of imported foodstuffs for possible radioactive contaminations following the Chernobyl reactor accident.

Work Opportunities for Nuclear Engineers in the Kingdom:

The areas of applications of nuclear radiation in the Kingdom are numerous. Many opportunities are available for the nuclear engineer. The engineer can work in nuclear medicine and radiology departments offering both professional service regarding radiation sources used, radiation doses and shielding requirements, as well as operation and maintenance of these radiation sources and related equipment.

The nuclear engineer is indispensable in the area of petrochemical industries, the steel industry, and oil exploration as well as in the search for underground water. All of these industries employ radioisotopes of one type or another in different states of their respective processes.

Although currently the Kingdom is blessed with tremendous oil reserves providing a secure supply of electrical energy for many years to come, nuclear electrical power, that is clean and non-polluting under normal operating conditions of nuclear reactors, may be required to be built in the Kingdom. Nuclear engineers will obviously be most needed for such projects.