Second Life to Get a Nuclear Reactor

This is very cool. From Insider Higher Ed:

Robert C. Amme, a research professor of physics at the University of Denver, thinks there aren’t nearly enough scientists with expertise in managing nuclear waste. So to train the next generation of environmental assessment specialists, he’s taking them to a place where there’s no radiation, nuclear fallout or even laws of gravity.

Armed with a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Amme and his colleagues are preparing to build a nuclear reactor — in the virtual, online world of Second Life.

The interface, created by Linden Research, has over 8 million users who can interact with and help shape their own online environments, including the ability to buy and sell property using a proprietary currency and meet new people. Yet critics have contended that Second Life’s influence is overrated and has little offline value; still only a fraction of its members actively participate in the virtual “metaverse.”

I've played around a bit inside Second Life, and there's a lot of interesting stuff going on there. I'll have to go back once they get the reactor up and running.