Milestone

Cohort 1 Just Hit Six Students. Here's Who Signed Up.

By Randy Steele · July 5, 2026 · 3 min read

Six students. Four paying seats. Two pilot seats. One classroom, starting August 10.

When we opened enrollment for NUCLEUS Cohort 1, I didn't know who would show up. I knew the curriculum was solid — built on the same DOE Fundamentals Handbooks that trained reactor operators for decades. What I didn't know was who would see themselves in it.

Six weeks later, I have an answer.

Who's actually in the room

The roster isn't what I expected when I first sketched out this program. It's better.

NUCLEUS Cohort 1 — as of July 5, 2026

None of them look like each other. That's the point.

Nuclear doesn't need one kind of student. It needs people who show up curious and stay for the work.

Why the mix matters more than the number

Six students is a small number by any measure. But a physician who spent a career reading data under pressure, a mother and daughter learning reactor theory side by side, and a high schooler who was already ahead of his class — that's not a small signal. That's the exact range of people the nuclear workforce actually needs to reach.

The industry has spent years talking about a pipeline problem. NUCLEUS isn't a talking point. It's six people who decided fifteen weeks of real coursework was worth their Saturday mornings starting August 10.

Enrollment closes August 3. Nine seats remain before we reach our target for this cohort.

Who do you know that belongs in seat number seven?

⚛️

Randy Steele

Founder, BWRx Studio · Licensed Senior Reactor Operator · Faculty, Chattanooga State Community College

Randy spent 35 years in nuclear power at TVA Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant and now teaches Nuclear Power Engineering Technology at Chattanooga State. He founded BWRx Studio to rebuild the nuclear workforce pipeline starting at the high school level.

Enroll in NUCLEUS Cohort 1

15 weeks. Instructor-led. A real Carnegie Unit on a real transcript. Cohort 1 starts August 10, 2026 — enrollment closes August 3. Seats are limited.

Secure Your Seat →
Questions? randy@bwrx.studio · (423) 903-2190