Spring 2021 Colloquium Series

April 30, 2021April 7, 2022

Individual Stories behind Fukushima Nuclear Tragedy

SPEAKER:

Kazuma Obara

Photojournalist

DATE/TIME:

FRI, 04/30/2021 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM

LOCATION:

via zoom

Spring 2021 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

Japanese photojournalist Obara will give a talk about individual stories of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear workers in Fukushima. Many aspects of the accident and working conditions forced nuclear workers to be silent after the accident. Workers became invisible from the society. He had tried to uncover their individual stories. In this talk, Obara will also show his latest pictures in current Fukushima in 2021.

About the Speaker:

Kazuma Obara (Japan, 1985) is a photojournalist based in Japan. Focusing on personal stories in nuclear tragedy. He engaged in the project of Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear accident and Bikini nuclear testing. His long term documentary series "Exposure" received First Prize in the World Press Photo 2016 People category. Obara currently works on the project of COVID-19 under the support of National Geographic Society.

April 23, 2021April 22, 2021

Fuel Cycle Needs to Support Advanced Reactors

SPEAKER:

Christina J. Leggett, Ph.D.

Nuclear Engineering Technical Consultant Booz Allen Hamilton

DATE/TIME:

FRI, 04/23/2021 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM

LOCATION:

zoom

Spring 2021 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

Now is an exciting time for the nuclear industry. Several advanced reactor designers are vying to enter the reactor market with a range of reactor designs, including molten salt reactors, high-temperature gas reactors, sodium fast reactors, and even microreactors. They range in size from a few megawatts to approximately 1 gigawatt, can operate at near atmospheric pressures and ultra-high temperatures, and use non-traditional coolants and fuels. Advanced reactors are also enjoying substantial bipartisan support, as evidenced by recent legislation and authorizations, and demonstrations of selected designs are being pursued DOE, DoD, and NASA. However, in order to help ensure the success of demonstrations and potential future deployments, the existing nuclear fuel cycle must evolve to meet the demands of these diverse designs. In addition, the novel fuel types and enrichments have presented new and unique challenges that need to be addressed. This presentation provides an overview and status of ongoing efforts to meet these needs and summarizes some of the challenges that also need to be addressed.

About the Speaker:

Christina Leggett is a nuclear engineering consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. In this role, she provides technical expertise to support new program development efforts at DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and manages R&D programs funded under ARPA-E’s nuclear fission portfolio. Prior to joining Booz Allen Hamilton, she worked as a nuclear engineer and program manager for the aqueous separations, pyroprocessing, and molten salt chemistry programs in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy. She also worked at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for five years as a Nuclear Engineer (criticality reviewer) in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and as a Reactor Systems Engineer in the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. She is an active Executive Committee member of the ANS Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division, serving as the Program Chair and Awards Committee Chair. Christina holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California-Berkeley and is the author of several papers.

April 23, 2021April 22, 2021

Thinking differently about radiation damage: New methods of measurement using nuclear magnetic resonance.

SPEAKER:

Ian Farnan

Professor of Earth and Nuclear Materials in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge

DATE/TIME:

FRI, 04/23/2021 - 11:00AM TO 12:00PM

LOCATION:

zoom

Spring 2021 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

The effects of radiation damage are a constant source of concern in nuclear engineering. The need the need to achieve greater tolerance over the effects of radiation damage is fundamental to the roadmap for the implementation of next generation fission and fusion systems, but how well do we understand the scale of the initial damage event and its recovery? Results will be presented from ‘nuclearised’ nuclear magnetic resonance experiments that show that the number fraction of (permanently) displaced atoms may be determined directly by experimental measurement, in contrast to volume changes and inferred defect concentrations. This challenges some of the existing assumptions about the initial scale of disruption caused by damage events and reveals the importance of local chemistry in the recovery process.

About the Speaker:

Ian Farnan is Professor of Earth and Nuclear Materials in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge. His research is focused on the structure, durability and fabrication of nuclear materials and naturally occurring radioactive minerals and the underpinning science for the disposal of radioactive waste. He is the Consortium Lead for the CaFFE (Carbides for Future Fission Environments) UK EPSRC to examine new materials for accident tolerant fuels and led the UK NDA-EPSRC research programme on the suitability of UK AGR fuel for geological disposal. Dr Farnan is involved with the use of international facilities for radiochemical research and the development of analytical techniques at the facilities to support his research and the nuclear research community. He was coordinator of the Euratom FP7 programme EURACT-NMR and served on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Environmental and Molecular Sciences Directorate of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (2007-15). He is Chair of Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre and advises the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the disposal of high activity materials. Farnan has held a Visiting Professorship at Stanford University and visiting scientist positions at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and at the European Commission Institute for Transuranium Elements (JRC).

April 9, 2021March 16, 2021

Protactinium Production in Leading Thorium Fuel Cycles

SPEAKER:

Dr. Eva C. Uribe

senior systems research analyst at Sandia National Laboratories

DATE/TIME:

FRI, 04/09/2021 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM

LOCATION:

zoom

SPRING 2021 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

Nuclear power from thorium fuel cycles is being explored around the world to extend uranium resource and to reduce the quantity of long-lived nuclear waste generated by civilian nuclear power production. Significant research and development efforts towards fuel cycles using thorium as the primary fertile material in place of uranium have occurred in India, Canada (Thorium Power), China (SINAP), Norway (ThorEnergy), the United States (Flibe, Thorcon), and elsewhere. Protactinium-233 is produced during the neutron irradiation of thorium-232 in a nuclear reactor. Protactinium-233 is a precursor to uranium-233, where uranium-233 is an accountable nuclear material under international nuclear safeguards. Currently, there are no conceptual approaches for monitoring and verifying protactinium-233 during thorium irradiation and spent fuel reprocessing. This presentation will describe a collaboration between researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to identify leading thorium fuel cycle candidates and to quantify protactinium production rates in those fuel cycles. Eva Uribe is an alumna of the Nuclear Science and Security Consortium, and she will also provide a brief overview of her early career since graduating from UC Berkeley.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Eva C. Uribe is a senior systems research analyst at Sandia National Laboratories. As a systems analyst, she teams across disciplines to provide unbiased and objective information and frameworks for decisionmakers to understand the risks, benefits, and unintended consequences of options within complex national security landscapes. Her current portfolio includes projects in advanced nuclear fuel cycle safeguards, spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, nuclear deterrence, nuclear nonproliferation, and cyber systems analysis. Prior to joining the laboratory in 2017, she was a Stanton Nuclear Security postdoctoral fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, where she investigated the implications of advanced spent fuel reprocessing capabilities in thorium fuel cycles on nuclear nonproliferation and the international safeguards regime. Eva graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Ph.D. in chemistry in 2016. She conducted her graduate research as an affiliate of the Heavy Element Nuclear and Radiochemistry Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her dissertation focused on understanding the interaction between aqueous actinide and lanthanide species and organically-modified, high-surface area mesoporous silica materials, using solid-phase nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. She also collaborated with the Goldman School of Public Policy to conduct policy analysis on the use of cross-domain deterrence in American foreign policy. Eva graduated from Yale University in 2011 with a B.S. in chemistry and a double major in political science. She was a Next Generation Safeguards Initiative intern in the Nonproliferation Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the summers of 2008 and 2009.

March 19, 2021March 16, 2021

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

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.

March 12, 2021March 14, 2021

Electrification in Metals and Mining: One Path Forward?

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.

March 5, 2021March 1, 2021

DESIGN AND MODELING CHALLENGES OF NUCLEAR THERMAL PROPULSION SYSTEMS

SPEAKER: Kotlyar Dan, Assistant Professor

Nuclear and Radiological

Office: (404) 385-5372, dan.kotlyar@me.gatech.edu

WEBSITE: https://sites.gatech.edu/core/

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 (I_sp). 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 I_sp 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.

February 26, 2021February 3, 2021

NuScale Power – A Scalable Clean Energy Solution

SPEAKER:

José N. Reyes, Jr.

Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder

DATE/TIME:

FRI, 02/26/2021 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM

LOCATION:

VIA ZOOM

SPRING 2021 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

Recent studies show that the addition of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to the renewable energy mix offers the least cost path to achieving clean energy mandates. NuScale Power has developed and received NRC approval for its SMR technology with customers seeking to deploy the technology within this decade. The potential for hydrogen production as part of a NuScale Integrated Energy System provides an exciting opportunity for carbon reductions in both the industrial and transportation section. This presentation provides an overview of the NuScale technology and its path to commercialization.

About the Speaker:

José N. Reyes, Jr., P.E., Nuclear Engineering Ph.D. and M.S. Univ. of Maryland, B.S. Univ. of Florida is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of NuScale Power. He is co-inventor of the NuScale small modular reactor with over 110 patents granted or pending in 20 countries. He is an expert on nuclear plant scaling, passive safety, and testing. He is Professor Emeritus and former head of the Dept. of Nuclear Engineering at Oregon State University. He is an ANS Fellow and Member of the National Academy of Engineering.

February 19, 2021February 17, 2021

Personalized Cancer Radiotherapy Through In Vivo Sensing

SPEAKER:

Mekhail Anwar, MD PhD

Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology

profiles.ucsf.edu/mekhail.anwar | anwarlab.ucsf.edu

mekhail.anwar@ucsf.edu

DATE/TIME:

FRI, 02/19/2021 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM

LOCATION:

via zoom

Spring 2021 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

We will discuss how to personalize cancer therapy through the development of new integrated circuit-based platforms for detecting both the delivery of charged particle therapy (CPT).

Real-time in vivo dosimetry - at the single particle level - holds the key to unlocking the power of personalized theranostics with both 𝛼 and β particles and the precision of proton therapy. The impact of theranostics using Lu177 - a β emitter - is already being felt across neuroendocrine and prostate cancers. Notably, 𝛼 particles deposit over 100X more energy over just 50 µm - making them a much more powerful - and potentially preciscse - therapeutic. However, this enthusiasm is tempered by the highly variable biodistribution making in vivo dosimetry essential to safe, personalized delivery. Similarly, range uncertainty is a major limiting factor in precision targeting of charged particle therapy, and would benefit from real-time in vivo dosimetry. To address these dual challenges, we have developed SENTRI - a mm² chip capable of single CPT measurements from within tissue - and will discuss how efforts to fuse proton therapy and personalized theranostics can improve outcomes in patients with aggressive cancers.

About the Speaker:

Mekhail Anwar is a Physician-Scientist and Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), focusing on developing microfabricated sensors and computer chip technology (‘integrated circuits’ or ICs) for cancer detection within the body. Educated at UC Berkeley in Physics, he completed his MD at UC San Francisco, and went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where his Ph.D. in electrical engineering focused on using ICs for biosensing. He returned to complete his residency in Radiation Oncology at UCSF and continued as faculty, where he earned the DOD Prostate Cancer Research Program Physician Award for his work in cancer imaging. He is the recipient of the NIH Trailblazer Award for developing chip-scale imagers for cancer and was recently awarded the NIH (DP2) New Innovator Award for in vivo imaging of immunotherapy response.

February 12, 2021February 2, 2021

Nuclear Landscapes: planning for nuclear waste disposal using cultural heritage thinking

SPEAKER:

Rosemary Joyce

Professor of Anthropology

DATE/TIME:

FRI, 02/12/2021 - 3:00PM TO 4:00PM

LOCATION:

ZOOM

Spring 2021 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

The global nuclear industry has for decades used sites like Stonehenge as models for designs for long-term markers to be placed over nuclear waste repositories to ensure they are not violated in distant, imagined futures. In the US, the resulting proposal would produce a pre-formed archaeological site, a ruin that would qualify for listing as a World Heritage site in the future. This talk questions the way planners thought about materials and human intentions from the perspective of an archaeological sensibility on how materials endure and decay and what people in the past expected would happen when they created the structures we recognize as monuments today.

About the Speaker:

Rosemary Joyce received the PhD from the University of Illinois-Urbana in 1985, based archaeological fieldwork in Caribbean Honduras. A curator and faculty member in anthropology at Harvard University from 1985 to 1994, she moved to the University of California, Berkeley in 1994, initiating new archaeological fieldwork in Honduras on the emergence of settled farming villages before 1500 BC. This began her explorations of the liveliness of geological materials, and the intentions of people in the past when they built features today seen as monuments. She is the author of ten books, the latest The Future of Nuclear Waste: What Art and Archaeology Can Tell Us About Securing the World’s Most Hazardous Material (2020, Oxford University Press).