News Archives

UNM to host first-ever residential nuclear engineering camp

May 20, 2025 - By Carly Bowling

Experience Nuclear Engineering High school students are invited to register for The University of New Mexico School of Engineering’s first-ever nuclear engineering camp, set to take place July 20 through 26.

Experience Nuclear Engineering 2025 is a free opportunity for students ages 15 to 18 to live on campus and learn about nuclear engineering through supervised, hands-on experiments with the UNM nuclear reactor, radioactive materials, radiation-generating particle accelerators and high-voltage plasma devices. Students will receive radiation detectors for the experiments and measurements that they can keep after the camp ends.

Participants will spend the week living on campus in the UNM main campus dorms. Current UNM Nuclear Engineering undergraduate students will serve as residential advisors. The camp will include three meals a day as well as fun activities like tours on and off campus, movies and more. Families are invited to attend a closing buffet lunch with student presentations on Saturday, July 26.

Safety is a critical component of nuclear engineering and the camp is no exception. Radiation exposure will be kept as low as reasonably achievable and has been calculated to be no more than the equivalent of three flights across the U.S., or about 10% of the annual regulatory dose limit for members of the public.

Registration is currently open, but limited to just 20 students this year, so interested parties are encouraged to apply early. Email Carl Willis, professor of practice in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, at carlwillis@unm.edu for more information about the camp.

Prospective Students

Alumni and Supporters

Current Students

Faculty and Staff

Academic Advising & Support

SOE on social media