Midshipmen enrolled in the Naval Academy’s Principles of Propulsion/Nuclear course (EM300N) speak with a technician at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Propulsion Plant in Lusby, Md., Nov. 4. Photo courtesy of David Fitz.

‘‘I have always wanted to see a nuclear power facility just to see how everything works together,” said Midn. 1⁄C Matthew Piety. ‘‘The size was overwhelming, the professionalism was amazing, and the employees were extremely interested in educating us during our visit.”

The EM300N course is designed for Midshipmen in non-engineering majors who have an interest in pursuing a service selection in nuclear power. Lt. Paul Coco, the course instructor and a nuclear surface warfare officer, compares the course to some of what he learned going through nuclear power school.

‘‘My objective is to teach the students practical engineering in a method that they’re going to see later on, as opposed to something they’ll learn in theory from a book,” said Coco. ‘‘We talk about all these components on paper and I wanted them to physically see these components so they could get an appreciation for what nuclear power is.”

The semi-annual trip to Calvert Cliffs directly supports that objective by allowing Mids to view a real-life nuclear power plant at work. The Mids also work in labs with radioactive material and receive hands-on interaction with the instruments the Navy uses to detect and measure shipboard radiation and personnel exposure.

‘‘Although all of us have an understanding of nuclear propulsion onboard carriers and submarines, this plant allowed us to apply the aspects of nuclear power that we had learned in the classroom to a real scenario,” said Midn. 1⁄C Andrew Hutchison.

The visit included a tour of the machinery spaces that house the turbine generators and the control room from which personnel control and monitor the reactors. The Mids also learned about security measures and emergency planning at the plant and participated in two simulated casualties.

‘‘It really seems as though they have thought of everything,” said Hutchison. ‘‘There are many unique problems that were considered and solved when all of our nuclear plants where being designed in the 1970s. This was hands down the most secure facility that I have ever been to. We had to go through at least three different security screenings before we were able to enter the main areas of the plant.”

The power plant, built in the 1970s and owned by Constellation Energy, has two pressurized light water reactors that produce 20% of the power consumed by the state of Maryland. Both reactors use water from the Chesapeake Bay to produce the steam required to generate electricity. The company is in the process of building a third reactor.