UToledo Takes Lead in Nationwide Push to Bolster Nuclear Workforce

The University of Toledo's Jeffrey Snyder learned the principles of thermodynamics in a classroom.

Now he's applying them to the real-world operation of a nuclear power plant whose cooling tower looms over the office where he's been crunching numbers and compiling documentation all summer - an experience he credits with solidifying his career aspirations.

"I'm hoping to stay in nuclear," said Snyder, a mechanical engineering senior who recently completed his second of two semesters at Vistra's Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant through the cooperative education program at UToledo's College of Engineering. "This co-op caught my attention a lot more than the co-ops I had completed previously."

There's a critical need for newcomers like Snyder in the industry.

That's why a new workforce initiative aims to recruit and retain employees by advancing safety training and certification programs for the light-water reactor workforce. The University of Toledo is at the head of this Great Lakes Partnership to Enhance the Nuclear Workforce, which recently received $19.2 million under the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Reactor Safety Training and Workforce Development Program.

Partners will match these funds for a total investment of $39 million.

"This is a very ambitious project, but it's something that really needs to be done," said Dr. Nikolas Podraza, principal investigator on the project and the interim dean of UToledo's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. "Our energy needs are growing, our technology is evolving, and our current nuclear workforce is experiencing a wave of retirements. By developing industry-recognized nuclear reactor safety certifications, we'll be supporting workers looking to enter and relocate within this sector."

"What we do here will have a longer reach than the states surrounding the Great Lakes," Podraza continued. "This is going to support the nuclear industry nationwide."

The Great Lakes Partnership will also directly benefit students at UToledo, which is bringing on new faculty to enhance existing and establish new coursework in health physics, nuclear medicine and radiation safety and to establish nuclear engineering specializations under existing bachelor's degree programs as early as the fall semester of 2027.

The Great Lakes Partnership to Enhance the Nuclear Workforce is the largest of 10 university-led projects to grow nuclear safety training programs and curricula across the nation that U.S. Department of Energy announced in March. These projects address a department-identified need for an additional 375,000 trained workers to support the deployment and commercialization of advanced reactors by 2050.

The partnership brings together universities, community colleges, national laboratories, workforce organizations and utilities under this broader effort to expand opportunities in support of the next generation of this critical workforce. The partnership is specifically tasked with enhancing the existing safety training pipelines for current and next-generation nuclear technologies across the country, with a particular eye toward the development of standardized certifications that would be recognized across the industry.

This effort aims to open new doors to employees with a wide range of skills and academic credentials - from high school diplomas to university doctorates - to enter the nuclear sector. It will also create opportunities for trained employees to relocate within the sector, ultimately supporting retention through improved mobility.

Gary Leidich, a retired executive for FirstEnergy and a part-time instructor in UToledo's College of Engineering, chairs the Advisory Board for the Great Lakes Partnership.

"Safety is the price of admission in the nuclear industry," Leidich said. "As the world increasingly turns to nuclear power plants as a safe and reliable source of clean energy, the Great Lakes Partnership is focused on positively contributing to the efficiency and effectiveness of measures that are already in place to protect workers and communities."

The Great Lakes Partnership also aims to build a talent pipeline that begins before the community college or university level through training, certificates, outreach and summer camp programs to be offered to children and teenagers.

As head of the Great Lakes Partnership, UToledo is leveraging both its research expertise and its strong relationship with the nuclear industry through its College of Engineering.

UToledo is recognized among the top-tier research institutions in the country through the Carnegie Research 1 (R1) Classification, and the University boasts one of one just eight engineering schools in the country that integrates work-based learning opportunities into its academic curriculum. Since the College of Engineering launched its integrated co-op program nearly three decades ago in 1999, more than 1,250 students have applied what they've learned in class at nuclear power facilities in Ohio and Michigan.

These include the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant located approximately 30 miles from UToledo's Main Campus in Oak Harbor, Ohio. Davis-Besse is operated by Vistra, one of 27 corporate partners at the College of Engineering.

UToledo notably does not offer a dedicated degree program in nuclear engineering.

That's actually a benefit for the Great Lakes Partnership.

"Expanding talent pipeline beyond traditional nuclear schools is essential," said Dr. Mohammad Elahinia, a co-principal investigator and dean of the College of Engineering. "Most U.S. universities do not have nuclear programs, and therefore, scaling workforce development nationally requires engaging institutions like ours. We look to be a model as to how universities can prepare students for the wide-ranging demands of the industry without a dedicated degree program in nuclear engineering."

Snyder followed a lifelong fascination with how things work into mechanical engineering, exploring real-world applications through three co-ops with two manufacturing firms before he connected with Vistra. He worked in programs engineering in 2025, and he returned this summer in mechanical and structural design.

Pointing to workforce figures that he's seen reflected in his own experience in the industry, he said he's excited for the Great Lakes Partnership.

"The nuclear workforce tends to be toward the older side," he said. "So I think a real emphasis on getting in younger people will be very beneficial."

He looks forward to being one of them.