Postelle Professor Wes Hines gave the welcoming remarks at Wednesday’s plenary session of the Conference on Nuclear Training and Education (CONTE), which was held virtually February 9–11. CONTE is a conference organized by the Education Training and Workforce Development Division of the American Nuclear Society.
Hines is the CONTE general chair and discussed the history of the conference and the development of curriculum enhancements at the University of Tennessee’s Department of Nuclear Engineering. These programs include undergraduate minors and graduate concentrations, which have been developed through partnerships with industry.
Also during the session, Hines was officially awarded the Robert L. Long Training Excellence Award, which was announced in September 2020. This award recognizes an individual or group who has demonstrated sustained excellence in nuclear training. The award is given to an individual, or group of individuals that work as a team, who currently work in the field of nuclear training and education, and is intended to recognize outstanding, innovative, unique and cost-effective contributions to the field.