James Watson to Give Insight to Students, Faculty and the Community

Columbia State Community College's Lyceum Committee will present "Milestones in Nuclear Propulsion Engineering," a lecture conducted by Physics and Physical Science Instructor, James Watson. The lecture will take place on Thursday, April 15 from 4:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. in room 123 of the Waymon L. Hickman building. This event is free and open to the public.

"With the recent decision by President Obama's administration, electricity production through the use of nuclear power plants is regaining emphasis and importance to the United States," said Glenn Hudson, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Columbia State.

Watson's lecture will focus on the beginning of nuclear power from the perspective of Naval Propulsion reactors over the last 50 years and their subsequent carry over into commercial power reactors that are used for the production of electricity.

"I will be discussing the history of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and my own personal experiences with the program at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory located in Schenectady, New York," said Watson, who will also give updates on his lecture "Renewal of Nuclear Power in the World" from the previous semester.

"Students will learn something that may be beneficial as a future career and gain insight into one of the key defense systems that protects the United States, "said Watson. "It's a rare opportunity to learn about an area that is usually heavily classified."

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest higher education system in the nation. For more information, visit www.ColumbiaState.edu.