As we approach the end of another academic year I am pleased to report that the UM NERS Department has maintained its #1 ranking in the US News and World Report ranking of NE graduate programs. This is a testament to the outstanding achievements of NERS faculty, students and staff.. Our department is growing in faculty, students and innovative research and opportunities. We are pleased to announce that Dr. Annalisa Manera has joined the department as an Associate Professor. Annalisa brings her world-class experimental and computation thermal hydraulics research expertise to UM NERS. This raises the number of tenure track NERS faculty to 24, (including 3 joint appointments) an all time high; we also employ 9 research faculty. UM NERS enrollment is strong at some 158 undergraduates (includes Engineering Physics) and 135 graduate students. Research funding by NERS faculty also reached an unprecedented level of some $16 million dollars annually.

UM continues its emphasis on international collaborations and outreach. Last Spring 15 UM students and 6 NERS faculty participated in a Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates taught in China at Xiamen University, SNERDI and other nuclear program sites. Our faculty members have taken a leading role in explaining the events at Fukushima to the public, with a forum at UM and subsequent interviews on CNN, the NBC Today Show and other media outlets. One faculty member has already traveled to Japan to investigate the impact of Fukushima on the radiological health of Japanese residents.

I continue to be amazed and pleased by the support that we receive from our devoted NERS alumni. It is a goal of mine to reach out to as many alumni as possible and invite them to keep in touch, come visit, or even drop me a note. NERS boasts some of the most distinguished graduates who can influence how we teach and provide guidance to our young, talented minds. NERS faculty members look forward to working with our outstanding students, researchers and alumni this coming academic year to ensure the bright future of the department and the field of nuclear energy.

Go Blue!

Ron Gilgenbach, Chair and Chihiro Kikuchi Collegiate Professor