On November 17, 2025, GW’s Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) conducted a web-based seminar featuring Robert Haemer, former Senior Nuclear Counsel at American Electric Power, and current GW Law Adjunct Professor. Prof. Haemer discussed current gaps in nuclear education that he has identified based on his insights into the nuclear education working groups under the Nuclear Energy Agency of OECD, and how GW might be involved in closing those gaps. Prof. Haemer shared his thoughts regarding the need to foster better understanding of the complex interfaces unique to nuclear program management and nuclear fuel reprocessing.
Prof. Haemer’s presentation was part of a concept in which GW could contribute to the currently ongoing nationwide effort to identify new low-carbon electric power sources to meet the dramatically increasing demands for power associated with AI and data centers. The focus of the concept is not to replicate well-established university leaders in areas such as nuclear engineering, but rather to build on GW’s areas of our strengths, including policy, law, nuclear physics and chemistry, quantitative risk analysis, and engineering management, and to develop cross-disciplinary approaches that will help fill the gaps including among nuclear-adjacent professions.
A video of Prof. Haemer’s symposium, which is part of EEMI’s work to fight global climate change, can be seen at the following link:
https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/rec/share/AgjuG0X0lI6A8n9Ih7yqjqTBVthax1gG3VdZc-XnckiMCEGATEBmwQg16deSbTx2.10eTS9Rx0GjpARvd startTime=1763395391000
Passcode: KM2HMU6@
The following courses illustrate the breadth of GW’s strength in existing courses relevant to the nation’s nuclear power possibilities, which could consist of cross-school graduate certificates or even new degree programs:
School of Law
LAW 6877 Nuclear Nonproliferation Law and Policy
LAW 6459 Atomic Energy Law
School of Engineering and Applied Science
ECE 6667 Nuclear Power Generation
EMSE 6220 Environmental Management
EMSE 6245 Analytical Tools for Environmental Management
EMSE 6260 Energy Management
EMSE 6285 Analytical Tools for Energy Management
EMSE 6200 Policy Factors in Environmental and Energy Management
EMSE 6225 Air Quality Management
EMSE 6230 Hazardous Waste Management and Cleanup
EMSE 6240 Environmental Hazard Management
EMSE 6290 Climate Change: Policy, Impacts, and Response
Colombian College of Arts and Sciences
PHYS 4175 Nuclear Physics
PHYS 6610 Nuclear and Particle Physics I
PHYS 6710 Nuclear and Particle Physics II
PHYS 8110 Selected Topics in Theoretical Nuclear Physics
PHYS 8120 Selected Topics in Experimental Nuclear Physics
HIST 3334 The Nuclear Arms Race
Elliott School of International Affairs
IAFF 6107 The Science of Nuclear Materials
IAFF 6141 International Science and Technology Policy Cornerstone
IAFF 6143 Science and Technology Policy Analysis
IAFF 6106 Nuclear Weapons
IAFF 6186 Special Topics in Security Policy Studies - Nuclear Proliferation and Nonproliferation
IAFF 6186 Special Topics in Security Policy Studies - Nuclear Security
IAFF 6186 Special Topics in Security Policy Studies - Weapons of Mass
Destruction and Arms Control