About BWRx Studio — Randy Steele | Nuclear Workforce Development

The instructor

Randy Steele

Founder & Executive Director, BWRx Studio · Faculty, Chattanooga State Community College

I came up the long way. Non-licensed operator to Licensed Senior Reactor Operator at TVA's Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant — one of the largest nuclear plants in the world. Outage Manager. Work Management Manager. NRC post-Fukushima BWR Fleet Lead. Initial License Instructor. 45 years of learning nuclear from the inside out.

I walked those concrete floors with operators, pipefitters, welders, instrument techs, health physics professionals, and schedulers. I trained the people who run that plant today. And the whole time, I kept thinking — what if a student could get this foundation before they ever set foot on a plant floor?

That question is why I built NUCLEUS. That question is why BWRx Studio exists.

Licensed Senior Reactor Operator (Retired) — TVA Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant
Initial License Instructor — TVA Browns Ferry
Outage Manager — TVA Browns Ferry
NRC Post-Fukushima BWR Fleet Lead
Faculty, Nuclear Power Engineering Technology — Chattanooga State Community College
45 years of nuclear operations experience

Student voice

Who NUCLEUS is for

"Excited to share that I've been awarded a pilot seat in the NUCLEUS Nuclear Physics & Reactor Theory course through BWRx Studio. As a machinist looking to grow my career in DOE and nuclear manufacturing, this opportunity to build a real foundation in nuclear physics is exactly what I needed. I will be a part of the first cohort helping shape the program."

— Peyton Rainey, CNC/Manual Machinist · Cohort 1 Student

"When I was working on my bachelor's in biology, I took a class called Radioisotopes Techniques. I didn't really know what to expect, but it sounded like it involved physics — a subject I'd always loved. After the first class, I knew I wanted to pursue something in that field. Six months later, I started writing my thesis on 'Biological Effects of Radiation in Natural Areas.'

My first job after that was as a Radiation Analyst at the University of Utah, where I learned the fundamentals of the technician role: operating and calibration-checking Geiger-Mueller (GM) detectors, sodium iodide (NaI) detectors, ion chambers, alpha meters, and liquid scintillation counters, along with lab surveys and waste disposal procedures. Part of my survey work covered a research reactor facility, but it was frustrating — I never had a real opportunity to learn the underlying reactor theory or fully understand the basis for the surveys I was doing.

In 2025, I moved to SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, where I've continued building my skills in the radiation field. But I still want to learn the fundamentals of nuclear reactors, so that one day I can work in that world."

— Lisa A., Radiation Analyst · Cohort 1 Student

Industry voices

What the nuclear community is saying

"It could quickly become a benchmark for the rest of the country on how this is done."

Duane Olcsvary — New Nuclear Power Project Developer · BWRx Studio Board Member

"The work force and all of the pieces around SMRs is just as critical as the technology itself. Defining the force requirements, identifying critical skills, and assessing the gaps in the current training construct will be essential. And it has to happen now."

Stephen Hardwick — Director, Tech Operations and Integration, U.S. Army

"If we in the community colleges can do the GFE legwork and even a lot of the HU/procedure use/soft skill legwork, we may see 8 or even 6 month licensing classes for the BWRX-300."

Jason Stone — Assistant Professor and Director of Nuclear Technology

"A launching pad for high school students interested in the nuclear industry that will help them prepare to enter the workforce."

Allen Summerall — SVP North America, HSB

"This is awesome. I wish it was available when I was a high school student."

Patti Schwartz — Licensed Operator Continuing Training Instructor

Press

In the news

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Chattanooga Times Free Press

BWRx Studio launches NUCLEUS — nuclear physics course for high school students

Reporter Daniel Dassow covered the launch of BWRx Studio and the NUCLEUS program — one of the first online, instructor-led, Carnegie Unit-credited nuclear physics courses for high school students in America. December 20, 2025.

Read the article →

The pipeline starts here.

TVA is building the first Small Modular Reactor in America at Clinch River in East Tennessee. The workforce to run it is in high school right now. NUCLEUS is how we get them ready.

Enroll in NUCLEUS

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