AEC Program May Enlarge Atom Studies

New plans of the Atomic Energy Commission may result in a greatly expanded training program in nuclear engineering at Harvard and other universities, a high official of the Commission said yesterday.

The official, who did not want his name used, said that the program, designed as a stop-gap measure to relieve the "critical shortage" of nuclear engineers, would consist of four parts:

1) Retraining of physics professors at government laboratories and at A.E.C. expense, during the summer:

2) Increased aid to post-doctoral students in nuclear sciences in the form of followships;

3) Outright gifts or subsidies for expensive equipment and radioactive materials for research departments;

4) Expansion of the Nuclear Science and Engineering School at Argonne National Laboratory, which is operated by nine schools.

University Program Begun

The spokesman stressed, however, that the program had not yet been definitely approved. "A lot of schools have submitted various proposals, ranging from outright gifts of money to fellowships, and some of them may be incorporated into the final plan." He cited the University's work in the atomic energy field as outstanding and added that Harvard had submitted "no major proposal as yet."

Meanwhile, Dean Van Vleck of the Division of Engineering and Applied Physics pointed out that the University had recently begun a Nuclear Engineering program of its own.

"We have one new course, Engineering 200, in the field, and may add several more," he said. He added that the Atomic Energy Commission is already aiding nuclear education by establishing several fellowships for advanced research in physics.