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Going From Zero to A Billion: How to Build an Advanced Nuclear Power Plant Indy Style

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SPEAKER:
CANON BRYAN
DATE/TIME:
MON, 08/31/2020 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM
LOCATION:
Zoom
Fall 2020 Colloquium Series
Abstract:

The nuclear energy industry is transforming from being highly concentrated and government- or multinational- funded to nimble, innovative start-ups funded by the cleantech community. This lecture discusses how it is possible to take an advanced reactor design from the idea stage to a multi-billion-dollar concern and still maintain control over your vision for the project.

About the Speaker:

Canon Bryan is a financial professional with over 25 years of experience in various aspects of the finance industry. Mr. Bryan has experience as a buy-side analyst, entrepreneur and financial executive. He co-founded and has been involved with the listing of two successful companies onto public stock exchanges in North America since 2004. He has contracted with many public and private companies, performing a wide variety of finance-related operations, including public company financial reporting, management reporting, full-cycle accounting, budget development and analysis, economic modeling, corporate development strategies, technical writing, project management, and others. He has had exposure to the following industries: nuclear power, natural resources, biotechnology, real estate development, food service and others. Mr. Bryan was a founding shareholder in the following companies: Terrestrial Energy Inc, since 2012, where he serves as chief financial officer, is developing a commercial molten salt reactor in Canada. NioCorp Developments Ltd (NB: TSXV) in October 2009. NioCorp is developing the largest niobium deposit in North America. Uranium Energy Corp (UEC: AMEX) in August 2004, where he served as VP Corporate Development until October 2007. UEC is a producer of ISR uranium in the USA. Mr. Bryan was a senior financial analyst for Lasik Vision Corporation (LSK: CDNX), which was the world’s largest provider of laser refractive surgical services. He has also served as chief financial officer, and on boards of directors, for private and public companies in Canada and the USA. Mr. Bryan completed his professional studies in accounting with the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada; he is not designated.

Zoom: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/91568655249

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Next-Generation Laser Plasma Spectroscopy Technologies for Nuclear Security

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SPEAKER:
VASSILIA ZORBA
DATE/TIME:
MON, 09/14/2020 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM
LOCATION:
Zoom
Fall 2020 Colloquium Series
Abstract:

Pulsed laser technologies play a critical role in nuclear security, including remote sensing, safeguards and emergency response. My group’s research focuses on the development of next-generation laser technologies with improved sensitivity, precision, and detection range for nuclear non-proliferation applications. This talk will cover recent work on emerging ultrafast technologies based on optical emission. Specifically, I will discuss new femtosecond laser ablation sampling approaches that enable remote isotopic and elemental sensing, improve laser beam propagation at extended distances, and preferentially enhance or impede chemical reactions for the detection of isotopes. Enabling laser technologies include femtosecond filamentation, ultrafast optical vortex beams, and femtosecond-induced weakly ionized air plasma channels to optimize detection distance and sensitivity.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Vassilia Zorba is a Physicist Staff Scientist and Group Leader for the Laser Technologies Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She is also an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests include ultrafast laser-material interactions, non-linear optics, remote sensing, laser-induced plasma chemistry, and laser ablation-based chemical analysis for nuclear security and energy applications. Her previous work focused on femtosecond laser surface structuring technologies and biomimetic material functionalization. Dr. Zorba’s credits include more than 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals, numerous invited talks, and a 2011 R&D 100 Technology Award.

Zoom Link: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/91568655249

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The Transformational Challenge Reactor

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SPEAKER:
KURT TERRANI, Ph.D.
DATE/TIME:
MON, 08/31/2020 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM
LOCATION:
Zoom
Fall 2020 Colloquium Series
Abstract:

This talk provides and overview of motivation behind and ongoing activities towards development and deployment of the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR)

About the Speaker:
Kurt Terrani is a Senior Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Director of Transformational Challenge Reactor program for U.S. DOE, Office of Nuclear Energy. He joined the laboratory as a Weinberg Fellow in the Nuclear Fuel Materials Group in 2010 after completing his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on fundamental aspects of nuclear fuel and materials manufacturing, radiation effects, and behavior.
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THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY: Interview with Peter Hosemann

The Future of Nuclear Energy: Interview with Peter Hosemann

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If you get cancer treatment today, it’s very likely you will get injected with a radioactive substance. That technology is born out of the nuclear enterprise. Without reactors, you wouldn’t have it. There are numerous examples of the benefits of nuclear engineering beyond just nuclear power.
Dr. Peter Hosemann, Professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at University of California, Berkeley

In 2000, nuclear energy from just 30 countries provided approximately 15 percent of worldwide electricity capacity. But by 2019, its share had fallen to 10 percent, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicting that without intervention it would fall even further, to 5 percent, by 2040. That represents a significant drop in what could be an important source of clean energy.

“A nuclear power plant doesn’t take up a lot of space, and it can create a tremendous amount of energy, with a carbon footprint that is extremely low,” says Dr. Peter Hosemann, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at University of California Berkeley, where he is also the current chair.

Nuclear energy is the second-largest low-carbon power source in the world, second only to hydropower. According to the IEA, low-carbon electricity generation has to increase to 85 percent of the world’s energy, from its 36 percent share today, in order to stave off the most calamitous effects of climate change. Of major low-carbon energy sources, nuclear power is the least dependent upon geography.

“I believe the use of nuclear energy will increase as we become more serious about climate change and carbon emission,” Dr. Hosemann says. “I don’t think we have much of a choice.”

Dr. Peter Hosemann is a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California Berkeley, where he is also the department chair. He received his MS and PhD degrees in material science from Montanuniversität Leoben, Austria.

Prior to joining the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley, Dr. Hosemann was a graduate research assistant and a post-doc at Los Alamos National Laboratory. His research features experimental material science for nuclear applications, with a focus on the structural materials used for nuclear components.

Source: https://www.onlineengineeringprograms.com/features/nuclear-energy-future

 

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MRS Graduate Student Awards

MRS Graduate Student Awards

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Yujun Xie, who is now a postdoctoral fellow at Prof. Peter Hosemann’s group at the University of California at Berkeley and National Center for Electron Microscopy in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has won the prestigious gold graduate student award from the 2020 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting for his Ph.D. work at Yale University working with Prof. Judy Cha and Prof. Jan Schroers.
MRS Graduate Student Awards are intended to honor and encourage graduate students whose academic achievements and current materials science research display a high level of excellence and distinction. MRS seeks to recognize students of exceptional ability who show promise for significant future achievement in materials research and education. Yujun was selected as one of 19 finalists and gave an invited competition talk. His presentation titled "Atomistic Understanding of Crystallization Principles in Atomistic Understanding of Crystallization Principles for Additive Manufacturing" was selected as one of the 7 students to receive the Gold Award among the finalists.
One focus of Xie's research is developing predictable outcomes in crystallization when working on the nanoscale.
“My work aims to develop accurate crystallization models beyond conventional theories and enable precise control of the microstructures of the structural alloys over a wide range of length scales from Ångström to micrometer using advanced analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques at unprecedented time and spatial resolution,” said Xie, who is now working with Prof. Peter Hosemann on learning the failure mechanism of composite materials in extreme
environments.
For more information, click here.
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DOE- Sponsored Research Addressing Protective Equipment During The Pandemic UCB-NE/LBNL Collaboration

DOE- Sponsored Research Addressing Protective Equipment During The Pandemic UCB-NE/LBNL Collaboration

August 19, 2020

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Since March 2020 it became obvious that Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) is essential to maintain core functions during a pandemic.

Essential workers are in need to receive reliable and convenient PPE, especially masks that are easy to breathe in. To address a need we work on a DOE-sponsored project with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

Our research and development focuses on two different aspects:

  1. Enhanced filtration and breathability by electrically enhanced filtration
  2. Castable mask designs (factory on a pallet)

The UCB-NE team of researchers Jason Duckering, Jeff Bickel, and Peter Hosemann worked together with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists Deepti Tanjore, Jeffrey Urban, Jaeyoo Choi, and Chaochao Dun to provide rapidly available masks with conventional or enhance filtration to essential workers.

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Is Nuclear Power the Solution to Climate Change?

Is Nuclear Power the Solution to Climate Change?

August 14th, 2020

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Paul Dorfman and Staffan Qvist both want to save the climate. But one of them wants to rid the world of nuclear reactors while the other wants to build more of them. We brought them together for a debate.

Dorfman, 64, of University College London, is founder and chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group, a collection of experts and activists working on nuclear energy and radiation medicine, nuclear proliferation and the sustainability of energy systems.

Qvist, 34, completed his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at the University of California at Berkeley and has since been conducting research in the U.S. and Sweden on the safety and economics of nuclear power. He currently runs an energy consultancy firm in Great Britain. He is the author of the book "A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow” together with the economist Joshua Goldstein.

To read the full debate, click here.
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Six Nuclear Engineering Faculty Members Receive U.S. Department of Energy NEUP Grants

Six Nuclear Engineering Faculty Members Receive U.S. Department of Energy NEUP Grants

June 18, 2020

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NEUP funds nuclear energy research and equipment upgrades at U.S. colleges and universities and provides student educational support.

The following six faculty members were awarded NEUP grants to further their research to help the U.S. Department of Energy accomplish its mission of leading the nation's investment in the development and exploration of advanced nuclear science and technology:

IRP:
MIT & Raluca Scarlat: Molten Salt Reactor Test Bed with Neutron Irradiation
UTK & Massimiliano Fratoni: Multi-physics fuel performance modeling of TRISO-bearing fuel in advanced reactor environments
NEUP: 
Rebecca Abergel: Evaluating hydroxypyridinone-based ligands for actinide and fission products recovery in used fuels
Peter Hosemann: Femtosecond Laser Ablation Machining & Examination - Center for Active Materials Processing (FLAME-CAMP)
Lee Bernstein, Massimiliano Fratoni, Jon:  Improved Molten Salt Reactor Design with New Nuclear Data for the 35Cl(n,x) and 56Fe(n,n’) reactions
NCSU & Peter Hosemann:  Corrosion Sensitivity of Stainless Steels in Pressurized Water Reactor Water Chemistry: Can KOH replace LiOH in PWRs?
NEUP infrastructure:
Peter Hosemann: Scanning Electron Microscope for nuclear materials investigation enabling in-situ techniques and novel characterization for the nuclear energy community

 

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Researchers lead federal efforts to improve COVID-19 testing

Researchers lead federal efforts to improve COVID-19 testing

April 22, 2020

Rebecca Abergel of Berkeley Lab's Chemical Sciences Division is studying how an anti-radiation-poisoning pill she developed in 2014 could help to protect people from the potential toxicity in the long-term retention of gadolinium, an ingredient in MRI contrast agents. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Wednesday, September 4, 2019 in Berkeley, Calif. 09/04/19

The Department of Nuclear Engineering is pleased to announce that one of our very own faculty has been leading the efforts during this global pandemic in the fight against COVID-19.

Rebecca Abergel, a faculty scientist in the Chemical Sciences Division and faculty for the Department of Nuclear Engineering, is leading a team to help establish validated alternatives to the instruments and reagents used for the currently approved diagnostics for COVID-19. This effort will provide normalized protocols to the broader community.

For more information, click here

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David T. Attwood Award for ASTES (AS&T Excellence in Service)

David T. Attwood Award for ASTES (AS&T Excellence in Service)

May 8, 2020

Our very own, Marissa Ramirez de Chanlatte, was selected as the recipient for the David T. Attwood Award for ASTES (AS&T Excellence in Service).

Congratulations Marissa! The department celebrates your accomplishments!