Inside the nuclear reactor room at Washington State University’s Nuclear Science Center, there’s a big pool. If you look down, you see a nuclear reactor glowing a vibrant blue.
Those aren’t lights; the blue glow is produced by electrons moving faster than the speed of light through water, creating a wake effect called “cherenkov radiation.”
Much like those electrons, there’s something else moving incredibly quickly in 2026 — a growing interest in nuclear science as global energy demands rise, and more companies look for ways to fuel data centers.
Experts say they expect a need for about 300,000 more people in the nuclear workforce by 2050.
WSU already trains students to operate its nuclear reactor, and expects more to earn their certificates this year. But there’s still untapped potential, said Corey Hines, director of WSU’s Nuclear Science Center.
“What we're hearing from the industry is we need people, way earlier on, to get interested in this,” he said. “We need people that are health physicists, that are radio chemists, that are welders, that are technicians.”
Kim Christen, WSU’s vice president for research, says the university is planning to expand its educational opportunities for in-person and hybrid students.
“We're developing a series of degrees, certificates, and micro credentials that will meet people where they're at,” she said.
Another part of the university’s nuclear investment is its research facilities. Currently, WSU sends irradiated material from its reactor, which turns 65 this week, to outside facilities for research. The planned addition of “hot cells” at the Nuclear Science Center would expand in-house options.
Hot cells, which get their name from the “hotness” of radiation emitted, are heavily insulated containment chambers that allow scientists to safely work with highly radioactive material. Each of those constructed at WSU will weigh in at around 300,000 pounds.
Staff say those hot cells will increase the center’s research and training capacity, and allow for the production of medical radioisotopes, which are used for detection and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Medical radioisotopes require purification and testing to ensure they meet strict health and safety requirements. Because the materials naturally decay over time, efficiency in processing and shipping medical radioisotopes is essential.
Christen said their plans will allow researchers to speed up the move from reactor to hot cells.
“We can get those results out the door that day to the customer, which could be the U.S. government, it could be a power electricity company, it could be a fusion company,” she said.
Construction for phase one of the project began last summer thanks to a $7.6 million congressionally directed earmark.
Phase two of the project will be to construct the hot cells.
“It may look like just a concrete box when we're done with it, but it is surely more than that,” Christen said.
The university has yet to secure funding for phase two, though Christen said public-private partnerships, as well as federal funding, are on the table. That construction for the second phase of the project could take over two years and cost anywhere from $23 million to $43 million.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
