University-National Lab Collaborations in Nuclear Engineering: From Research to Workforce

Bakhtian - INL photo
SPEAKER:
Dr. Noël Bakhtian
Executive Director of the Berkeley Lab Energy Storage Center at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
DATE/TIME:
FRI, 03/19/2021 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM
LOCATION:
zoom
SPRING 2021 Colloquium Series
Abstract:
The Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) is a consortium bringing together the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory and the four public research universities of Idaho and Wyoming. This talk will give insight into the opportunities for collaboration existing between universities and national labs, using examples from the newly approved vision, mission, and strategy at CAES - from summer visiting faculty programs to joint certificates.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Noël Bakhtian is Executive Director of the Berkeley Lab Energy Storage Center at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She was previously a member of the Senior Leadership Team at DOE's Idaho National Laboratory as director of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), and provided congressional testimony on energy workforce challenges and opportunities in 2018. Formerly, Dr. Bakhtian served as a senior policy adviser for environment and energy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and served as the inaugural lead for the energy-water nexus at DOE's Office of International Affairs. Dr. Bakhtian earned her engineering doctorate at Stanford University’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics; holds master’s degrees from Stanford University and the University of Cambridge, where she was a Churchill Scholar; and completed her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Duke University. Dr. Bakhtian serves as a member of the National Academies Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy; and as a board member for the Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity. She is a Professor of the Practice at Boise State University.

SHERMAN: A UCBNE MEng Capstone Project Now Developed at LANL

SHERMAN: A UCBNE MEng Capstone Project Now Developed at LANL

March 12, 2021

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A former MEng Capstone project by Jay Lin was published as a paper last year, and now developed as a product at Los Alamos National Laboratory. It was renamed from RANHAM to SHERMAN (Sample Handling Environment for Radioactive Materials Analysis with Neutrons) and has a commissioning report due in September 2021.

It is planned to hold spend fuel rods for 3D tomography investigations at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) accelerator.

To read the published paper: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11837-019-03849-2.pdf

Looking forward to more excellent news from our Alumni!

ANS Magazine Radwaste Solutions features Lorenzo Vergari’s work

ANS Magazine 'Radwaste Solutions' features Lorenzo Vergari's work

March 10, 2021

TRISO vergari fratoni

UCBNE PhD student Lorenzo Vergari's work is featured in the Spring 2021 Issue of the ANS Magazine 'Radwaste Solutions.' Entitled "Packaging TRISO," the article was based on Vergari's presentation of the same topic at the 2020 ANS Virtual Winter Meeting on November 16-19, 2020. He discusses storage and transportation strategies for used Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor fuel and identifies the next steps in the investigation before the suggestions can be put into effect.

ANS members can check this article out here. Starting on Page 68

Keep up the Excellent work Lorenzo!

Electrification in Metals and Mining: One Path Forward?

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SPEAKER:
Antoine Allanore
Associate Professor of Metallurgy in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT
DATE/TIME:
FRI, 03/12/2021 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM
LOCATION:
Zoom
Spring 2021 Colloquium Series
Abstract:

Metals and minerals remain at the basis of modern society and their affordable and
environmentally respectable extraction and recycling is required. A global population of 9 billion
people by 2050 and global issues such as greenhouse gas emissions provide unique opportunities
for the deployment of new technologies for metals extraction and processing. Anticipating
affordability and deployment of sustainable electric power generation [1], the electrification and
intensification of metals and mining industry processes is becoming a possibility. This seminar
starts with reporting a methodology and analysis of existing extraction processes (e.g., mining
and pyrometallurgy of copper sulfides, ironmaking, and aluminium electrolysis) from an
electricity and cost standpoint. In a second time, the results are used to put forth a set of metrics
for alternative technologies based on electricity [2,3,4]. Finally, results for process scale-up in
molten oxides [4] and sulfides [5,6] are reviewed, highlighting the recent acceleration toward
industrial demonstration.
[1] A. Allanore, Contribution of Electricity to Materials Processing: Historical and Current Perspectives, JOM,
65(2), 131, (2013)
[2] A. Allanore, Electrochemical Engineering for Commodity Metals Extraction, Electrochem. Soc. Interface, vol.
26, issue 2, 63-68, (2017)
[3] C. Stinn and A. Allanore, Estimating the Capital Costs of Electrowinning Process, Interface, vol. 29, 44-49,
(2020)
[4] A. Allanore, Features and Challenges of Molten Oxide Electrolytes for Metal Extraction, Journal of the
Electrochemical Society, 162(1), 13-22, (2015)
[5] A. Allanore, L. Yin & D. R. Sadoway, A New Anode Material for Oxygen Evolution in Molten Oxide
Electrolysis. Nature, 497(7449), 353–356, (2013)
[6] S. Sokhanvaran, S.-K. Lee, G. Lambotte & A. Allanore, Electrochemistry of Molten Sulfides: Copper Extraction
from BaS-Cu2S. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 163(3), 115–120, (2016)
[7] S. Sahu, B. Chmielowiec & A. Allanore, Electrolytic Extraction of Copper, Molybdenum and Rhenium from
Molten Sulfide Electrolyte, Electrochimica Acta, vol. 243, 382-389 (2017)

About the Speaker:
Antoine Allanore is Associate Professor of Metallurgy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA). After several years of service with ArcelorMittal working on GHG-reduction in the steel industry, he teaches metallurgy in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, and conducts research on sustainable metals and minerals processing . Prof. Allanore earned his engineering degree from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Industries Chimiques (ENSIC, Nancy, France), and MSc. and PhD from University of Lorraine (France). He was awarded the TMS DeNora Prize in 2012, recognizing outstanding contributions to the reduction of environmental impacts, especially focused on extractive processing, and TMS Early Career Faculty Award in 2015.

DESIGN AND MODELING CHALLENGES OF NUCLEAR THERMAL PROPULSION SYSTEMS

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SPEAKER: Kotlyar Dan, Assistant Professor
Nuclear and Radiological
Office: (404) 385-5372, dan.kotlyar@me.gatech.edu
DATE/TIME:
FRI, 03/5/2021 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM
LOCATION:
zoom
Spring 2021 Colloquium Series
Abstract:

Dr. Kotlyar has established a sustainable research program in the field of advanced nuclear reactor design and multiphysics analysis. His Computational Reactor Engineering Laboratory (CoRE) focuses on developing the next generation production tools as well as designing advanced and low cost nuclear energy systems. In this talk he will cover the design aspects and modeling challenges associated with Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) systems. Nuclear thermal propulsion is a potential technology for future crewed missions to Mars due to its high thrust, and high specific impulse (Isp). This technology is expected to enable reduced interplanetary travel times, which could increase the crew's safety by reducing exposure to cosmic radiation and other hazards of deep space travel. BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) is working with NASA to develop critical reactor fuel technologies and mature the design of a low-enriched uranium engine. Dr. Dan Kotlyar’s research group is working with BWXT to support further research in NTP technology by developing a computational multiphysics framework that will allow a better understanding of the operational limits, reliability, and associated safety margins of the engine. Many of NTP design challenges are born from satisfying both the Isp and thrust to weight ratio requirements while ensuring adequate excess reactivity for the entire engine lifetime. In order to overcome these challenges multiphysics tools are required to accurately predict the core power distribution which is impacted through various phenomena.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Dan Kotlyar is an Assistant Professor in the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, G.W.W. School of Mechanical Engineering. He received his B.Sc. in Engineering in 2008, MSc in Nuclear Engineering in 2010, and PhD in Nuclear Engineering in 2013 from Ben-Gurion University, Israel. In 2014, he joined the University of Cambridge as a Research Associate in the Engineering Design Center. In 2014, he was elected as a Research Fellow at Jesus College. He is the recipient of the NRC Faculty Development Fellowship. Dr. Kotlyar’s research interests include development of numerical methods and algorithms for coupled Monte Carlo, fuel depletion and thermal hydraulic codes. In particular, he specializes in applying these methods to the analysis of advanced reactor systems. Dr. Kotlyar’s research also focuses on optimizing the performance of various fuel cycles in terms of fuel utilization, proliferation, and cost. Dr. Kotlyar’s group is actively engaged to support the nuclear industry with modeling and simulation challenges related to advanced concepts. Dr. Kotlyar profoundly believes in education through research and thus integrates practical reactor system design into his lectures.

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