Virginia universities are powering up on nuclear engineering, prompted by renewed attention to alternative energies.

Graduate students at Virginia Commonwealth University are pursuing a master's in mechanical engineering with a nuclear engineering track. Those at Virginia Tech earn a similar degree with a nuclear certificate. The graduate programs began in the fall and each has about 20 graduate students enrolled.

The University of Virginia, which a decade ago shut down its reactor after 38 years of research, may rejoin the field by adding a minor for engineering undergraduates.

Nationwide, there are six license applications for new reactors -- all in the South -- before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which expects 14 applications this year. The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group, says 17 companies and consortia are pursuing licenses for more than 30 plants.

"There is suddenly a need for engineers to man these power plants," said Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, chairman of VCU's mechanical-engineering department. The need will only grow as current plant employees reach retirement age, he added.

Virginia Tech was approached by several companies about restarting its nuclear-engineering program, which ended in the mid-1980s, said Mark Pierson, a research associate professor on Virginia Tech's mechanical-engineering faculty who has more than 20 years of experience in the naval nuclear-power program.

"We think there's demand," Pierson said.

VCU's program has financial support from Dominion, which has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license that would give the utility the option of building and operating a third reactor at its North Anna Power Station in Louisa County.

Virginia Tech's program partners with private industry and federal entities, including Dominion Resources, the Department of Energy and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

In the mid-1970s, there were as many as 80 nuclear-engineering departments and programs across the country, according to a report by the National Research Council. Those numbers dwindled after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania in 1979.

In the following two decades, student interest fell and Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia shut down their graduate programs and research reactors.

According to the Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information, 33 universities reported having some type of nuclear engineering program in 2003.

Concern about global warming and fossil fuels as well as taxpayer-funded subsidies sparked the latest interest in nuclear power plants.

VCU's and Virginia Tech's programs use a combination of on-campus class work and distance learning, partnering with universities that have research reactors, simulators, and -- in Virginia Tech's case -- training reactors. Dominion is also providing internships and cooperative programs for VCU students.

Virginia Tech also has 32 undergraduate students studying the field, while VCU pursues approval for undergraduate course work. U.Va. would like to start an undergraduate program this fall, said Barry Johnson, senior associate dean of engineering.

All three schools say they have no plans to build campus reactors, an expensive and politically risky proposition.

"We applaud all of these schools for having the foresight to strengthen their programs," said David A. Christian, chief nuclear officer and president for Dominion Nuclear.

In recognition of the blossoming interest, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week announced $15 million in nuclear-education scholarships, graduate fellowships and faculty-development grants.

Contact A.J. Hostetler at (804) 649-6355 or ahostetler@timesdispatch.com.