The Department of Nuclear Engineering at Tokyo Tech, established in 1957, is one of the oldest Nuclear Engineering graduate programs in Japan. It offers students of various backgrounds from different undergraduate schools the education and research opportunities in nuclear engineering. The field is characterized by the breadth and depth of its program originating in nuclear, molecular and radiation physics and chemistry, and by their engineering applications, in particular, to the peaceful use of nuclear energy with emphasis on safety, economy and the recent clean development mechanisms in the environmental issues. This is partly warranted by increasing needs for the energy production that does not emit the greenhouse-effect-gases. At the same time, the use of nuclear energy is accompanied by radio-active wastes whose environmental impacts should be minimized. The nuclear engineering course defines its education and research programs in collaboration with Department of Energy Sciences, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering. As a whole, the Nuclear Engineering Department undertakes a broad view of the graduate curriculum including nuclear fission and fusion power engineering and safety, materials science and engineering, radiation technology, bio-medical areas, and a recent addition of the back-end process engineering in collaboration with industries and national institutes.

In 2003, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan has selected our Nuclear Engineering Department as one of the participants to the 21 st Century COE (Center of Excellence) Program to form internationally competitive research and education bases in the area of “Innovative Nuclear Energy Systems for Sustainable Development of the World.”