UC Berkeley Awarded DOE Grant for Radioactive Waste Management

UC Berkeley Awarded DOE Grant for Radioactive Waste Management 

March 27, 2024

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In partnership with Florida International University, UC Berkeley has been awarded a grant totaling $3,599,445 to provide for a center of excellence for research and training in radioactive waste management. This grant comes as part of the DOE's Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (MSIPP). A total of seven minority serving institutions are to be awarded an estimated total of $24,761,831 in MSIPP grants for the three-year period from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2027.

Read the DOE press release.

Eos Neutrino Detector Tests Begin

Eos Neutrino Detector Tests Begin

March 22, 2024

Photo Credit to Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab.

Photomultiplier tubes, used to detect faint sources of light, mounted inside the steel tank of the Eos detector.
Photo Credit to Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab. Photomultiplier tubes, used to detect faint sources of light, mounted inside the steel tank of the Eos detector.

Tests have now begun on Eos, a new type of neutrino detector at UC Berkeley, for nonproliferation and physics research. The effort is led by physics faculty Gabriel Orebi Gann and takes place in the former nuclear reactor site operated by UCBNE.

Read more about the design of Eos and its research aims in Berkeley News.

eVinci Technology and the Potential of Microreactors

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SPEAKER:

Zach McDaniel

Director, Partnerships and Grants
DATE/TIME:
MON, 03/18/2024 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM
LOCATION:
3106 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Abstract:

Westinghouse is developing the eVinci™ microreactor to revolutionize how cost-competitive, carbon-free energy is delivered. The eVinci microreactor is a 15MW thermal heat pipe reactor capable of generating 5MW of electricity and is designed to run for approximately eight full power years before refueling. This transportable technology simplifies the traditional reactor design and facilitates greatly reduced construction and deployment timelines. This novel technology opens many new global markets to the highly desirable benefits of safe, clean, and reliable energy through nuclear power.

Bio:

Zach McDaniel is the Director for Partnerships and Grants at Westinghouse Electric Company where he works to engage key program stakeholders and partners to expedite product finalization and market entry for the eVinci Microreactor. Zach has held multiple leadership roles at Westinghouse since 2006 including Director of Innovation (Nuclear Technology and Advanced Fuels), Accident Tolerant Fuels Technology Manager, Digital Transformation Portfolio Manager, PWR Fuel Engineering Methods and Innovation Manager, Business Development, and Product Management. He recently worked in collaboration with the US national laboratories and academia through participation on the Department of Energy Consortium for Advanced Simulation Of Light Water Reactors (CASL) Program to advance modelling and simulation tools for industry application, completed a term as on the Executive Committee of the American Nuclear Society Reactor Physics Division, serves on the Purdue University College of Engineering Ethics Advisory Council, and was the sponsor manager working with ENUSA for nuclear energy technology developments. Prior to his positions at Westinghouse, he worked for Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory providing support for the US Naval Fleet. Zach holds a bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University and an Executive MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Rebecca Abergel Awarded 2024 Bakar Prize

Rebecca Abergel Awarded 2024 Bakar Prize

March 13, 2024

Engineering faculty and staff headshots at UC Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by Adam Lau/Berkeley Engineering)

Professor Rebecca Abergel has been named one of five UC Berkeley faculty members awarded the 2024 Bakar Prize. The Bakar Prize is designed to give a boost to campus innovators as they translate their discoveries into real-world solutions. The prize is given annually to former Bakar Fellows and provides additional resources to ensure a successful transition of their technology from academic research to industry applications.

Rebecca Abergel, was awarded for the project: Extending indications for heavy metal decorporation products.

"Toxic heavy metals, such as lead, are ubiquitous in our environment, yet there currently is no viable option for removing them from the body when inadvertently consumed. The only practical therapy is treatment with chelating agents that form excretable complexes. Abergel's team is trying to broadly extend the applicability of current drug treatment products to a wide range of heavy metal toxicities and everyday-life contamination scenarios, including chronic exposure of children. She plans to conduct experimental decontamination studies that will validate and translate these initial chelating drugs into treatments that are accessible and affordable to patients all over the world. She specifically hopes to develop treatment regimens appropriate for pediatric populations and for the removal of internalized heavy metals resulting from chronic exposure."

Read more about the Bakar prize and its 2024 winners.

Chasing the Light: What More We Can Learn from the X-ray and Tissue Interactions

Dr.Ke.Sheng
SPEAKER:

Dr. Ke Sheng

Professor and Vice Chair of Medical Physics
Department of Radiation Oncology
DATE/TIME:
MON, 03/11/2024 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM
LOCATION:
3106 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Abstract:

Traditional medical physics research focuses on the energy deposition of MV X-rays for radiotherapy and attenuation for kV X-ray imaging. Nevertheless, the secondary particles of X-ray tissue interaction carry rich information that should be integrated and utilized. The presentation will discuss the technology, clinical applications, and future developments of two unique and new modalities using these secondary particles.

Bio:

Dr. Ke Sheng graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China with B.S. and M.S. before obtaining his Ph.D. in Medical Physics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 2004. He was then an Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Virginia. In 2011, Dr. Sheng moved to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was promoted to Full Professor with Tenure and Director of Physics Research. In 2022, he joined UCSF Radiation Oncology as the Vice Chair of Medical Physics. He has broad research interests in radiotherapy and medical imaging, including treatment planning, optimization, image reconstruction, processing, machine learning, robotics and radiobiology. He was elected Fellow of AAPM in 2016. His research has been supported by NIH, DOE, DOD, and industrial partners. He has published over 180 peer-reviewed papers and mentored over 20 Ph.D. students.

UCBNE at TMS 2024 Conference

UCBNE at TMS 2024

March 8, 2024

The UC Berkeley Nuclear Engineering team had a strong showing at the annual Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS) conference. Chris Reis, Ryan Hayes, Malachi Nelson, Darrin Parkinson, Kavin Ram, and Professor Peter Hosemann presented several talks and posters at the 2024 meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Advanced Reactors Overview at the Idaho National Laboratory

Youssef Ballout Bio INL
SPEAKER:

Youssef A. Ballout

Division Director, Reactor Systems Design & Analysis

DATE/TIME:
MON, 03/04/2024 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM
LOCATION:
3106 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Abstract:

Dr. Youssef Ballout will discuss the historical evolution of reactor technology at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).  Dr. Ballout will also discuss the three microreactors under construction at INL.  These microreactors are leading the path forward for allowing the advanced nuclear industry to bring the nuclear reactor technology necessary to fight climate change with energy produced with zero carbon emission.  The construction of these reactors will also open the way for the supply chain industry needed by the reactor start up industry.

Bio:

Dr. Youssef Ballout is the Director of Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) Reactor Systems Design & Analysis division. He joined INL in December 2018 as the manager of the Fuel Design and Development Department. Prior to INL, he was the President of Elysium Industries Limited where he was engaged in leading the design and development of a molten chloride salt fast reactor. He also spent twenty-six years at the Naval Nuclear Laboratory (NNL)/Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory where he worked on nuclear reactor design, reactor materials, reactor thermal hydraulics, and rector structural performance. During his career at NNL, Dr. Ballout also managed the Space Structural Materials group in collaboration with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) supporting the design and analysis of the reactor for nuclear propulsion in outer space to explore the icy moons of Jupiter as part of the Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter (JIMO) project Prometheus. Over his career he worked on reactor design and reactor performance first as an experimentalist, then in modeling and simulation and often both at the same time. In addition to his technical contributions, Dr. Ballout spent many years in engineering and organizational leadership. Early in his career Dr. Ballout was a professor of engineering at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) where he taught engineering materials, design, and programming. He began his university education in Limoges, France, and ultimately received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. engineering degrees from Wichita State University, Kansas.

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