The Berkeley Space Center

orig_bayen_0434_2013_0
SPEAKER:

Alexandre Bayen

Liao-Cho Professor, EECS; Associate Provost for the Berkeley Space Center

DATE/TIME:
MON, 11/27/2023 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM
LOCATION:
3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Abstract

This talk will describe the latest development of the Berkeley Space Center, a project in which UC Berkeley is developing a 36 acres parcel at NASA Ames (Moffett Field, near Mountain View), to build a new 1.4M sq. ft research hub, which will host research and teaching activities, co-located with industry consortia working together with UC Berkeley, NASA and local stakeholders jointly under Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The talk will discuss the project, and links to the Nuclear Engineering Department.

Bio

Alexandre Bayen is the Associate Provost for Moffett Field Program Development at UC Berkeley, and the Liao-Cho Professor of Engineering at UC Berkeley. He is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. From 2014 - 2021, he served as the Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley (ITS). He is also a Faculty Scientist in Mechanical Engineering, at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). He received the Engineering Degree in applied mathematics from the Ecole Polytechnique, France, in 1998, the M.S. and Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University in 1999 and 2004, respectively. He was a Visiting Researcher at NASA Ames Research Center from 2000 to 2003. Between January 2004 and December 2004, he worked as the Research Director of the Autonomous Navigation Laboratory at the Laboratoire de Recherches Balistiques et Aerodynamiques, (Ministere de la Defense, Vernon, France), where he holds the rank of Major. He has been on the faculty at UC Berkeley since 2005. Bayen has authored two books and over 200 articles in peer reviewed journals and conferences. He is the recipient of the Ballhaus Award from Stanford University, 2004, of the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, 2009 and he is a NASA Top 10 Innovators on Water Sustainability, 2010. His projects Mobile Century and Mobile Millennium received the 2008 Best of ITS Award for ‘Best Innovative Practice’, at the ITS World Congress and a TRANNY Award from the California Transportation Foundation, 2009. Mobile Millennium has been featured more than 200 times in the media, including TV channels and radio stations (CBS, NBC, ABC, CNET, NPR, KGO, the BBC), and in the popular press (Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Times). Bayen is the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) award from the White House, 2010. He is also the recipient of the Okawa Research Grant Award, the Ruberti Prize from the IEEE, and the Huber Prize from the ASCE.

Microfluidics Separations for Field-Deployable Nuclear Forensics

Jennifer Shusterman
Jennifer Shusterman
SPEAKER:

Jennifer Shusterman

Staff Scientist, LLNL

DATE/TIME:
MON, 11/13/2023 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM
LOCATION:
3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Abstract

The Nuclear and Radiochemistry group at LLNL works on a wide variety of projects ranging from nuclear forensics to stockpile stewardship to fundamental studies in super heavy element production and chemistry. An overview of some of the work in the NRC group will be provided as well as a deeper dive on a current R&D effort aimed at developing potentially fieldable radiochemistry and analysis equipment to support post-detonation nuclear forensics. To expedite analysis of post-detonation nuclear debris, a microfluidic chemistry and small-scale detection platform has been developed. Towards future field-deployable application, the footprint of the platform and volume of reagents have been minimized, and the system and its components selected to operate in ambient conditions. Supported liquid membrane microfluidic devices have been designed and 3D-printed for separation of uranium and plutonium from fission products, debris matrix elements, actinides, and activation products. Uranium and plutonium quantification are done using online UV-Visible spectrophotometry and gamma spectrometry, and online alpha spectrometry, respectively. Thus far, the platform has been used to separate and characterize uranium and plutonium ratios from various surrogate debris matrices containing actinides and fission products.

LLNL-ABS-856340. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. This work was funded by the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development within the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Bio

Jennifer Shusterman is a radiochemist in the Nuclear and Radiochemistry Group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Previously, she was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the same group at LLNL and an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and the CUNY Graduate Center. She has a B.S. in Chemistry and Engineering Science from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

UCBNE Faculty and Research Showcased in Berkeley Engineering Magazine

UCBNE Faculty and Research Showcased in Berkeley Engineer Magazine

November 7, 2023

Photo from Berkeley Engineering
Photo from Berkeley Engineering
UCBNE faculty Raluca Scarlat, Per Peterson, and Peter Hosemann were featured in the Fall 2023 edition of Berkeley Engineer magazine in an article titled "Nuclear power renaissance". The article highlights their research and insight on molten salt technologies for advanced nuclear energy systems. Read the full article here.

Raluca Scarlat Promoted to Associate Professor

Raluca Scarlat Promoted to Associate Professor

October 19, 2023

UC Berkeley nuclear engineering professor Raluca Scarlat in her Etcheverry Hall lab in Berkeley, Calif. on Friday, March 4, 2022. (Photo by Adam Lau/Berkeley Engineering)
The UC Berkeley Nuclear Engineering Department is pleased to announce that Raluca Scarlat has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Raluca joined the department in January 2019, and since then has made extensive contributions to the department and great accomplishments in research. She has built up the SALT lab with world class capabilities in the area of molten fluoride chemistry and has established herself has an international renowned expert in this field. Raluca has taken over the instruction of the course Engineering Thermodynamics- ENGIN 40 and has made substantial efforts to modernize the class. In addition, Raluca has put a lot of effort in supporting our students at all stages, working with ANS, as an example, to establish a peer mentoring program.

We look forward to see her continuing to thrive. Congratulations Raluca!

Chemistry and physics of graphite in molten fluoride salts

Vergari
SPEAKER:

L Vergari
Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

DATE/TIME:
MON, 11/06/2023 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM
LOCATION:
3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Abstract

Graphite is a ubiquitous material in nuclear engineering. Within Generation IV designs, graphite serves as a reflector or fuel element material in Fluoride-Salt-Cooled-High-Temperature Reactors (FHRs), Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs), and High-Temperature-Gas-Reactor (HTGRs). In fusion research, graphite was originally proposed as a divertor material and may be employed in the breeding blanket. Graphite versatility in nuclear systems stems from its unique combination of mechanical, thermal, chemical, and neutronic properties. These properties vary across graphite grades and are influenced by operational parameters like temperature, radiation, and chemical environment. In reactors that employ fluoride salts, graphite can interact with the salt through multiple mechanisms, including salt-infiltration in graphite pores, chemical reactions with salt constituents, and tribo-chemical wear. These mechanisms can have an impact on graphite’s integrity and functional performance in the reactor, including its ability to immobilize tritium, its irradiation-resistance, and its sensitivity to degradation under air ingress. This seminar will describe mechanisms of interactions of fluoride salts with graphite and assess their impact on reactor engineering. This talk will also discuss active research projects on molten salts and graphite at the University of Illinois.

Bio

Dr. L Vergari is an Assistant Professor in Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering and the director of the ABC Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Vergari holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California Berkeley, a M.S. in Energy and Nuclear Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, a M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and a B.S. in Energy Engineering from Politecnico di Milano.
Useful links: Google ScholarResearchGateNPRE Department
Contact information: vergari@illinois.edu.

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