Fall 2023 Colloquium

Dr. Benjamin R. Betzler Head of Nuclear Engineering at Radiant Increased industry development of nuclear microreactors over the last several years is largely due to their portability and operational flexibility, making them a feasible carbon-free technology for a variety of electrical grid sizes and remote locations. Reliability and operational flexibility, with years of operation without …

Professor Gabriel O. Gann Associate professor of physics, UC Berkeley and Faculty scientist, LBNL Abstract:Neutrinos are some of the most fascinating particles that occur in nature. Over one billion times lighter than the proton, the neutrino was once thought to be massless and to travel at the speed of light. This talk will discuss the …

Jessica Lovering Executive Director, Good Energy Collective Abstract: This talk will focus on the intersection between policies to decarbonize our energy system and efforts to ensure a just transition for fossil-fuel workers and dependent communities. One opportunity that has emerged is the potential to repower retiring coal power plants with small, modular nuclear reactors. Such …

Dennis R. Schaart, PhD Head, Medical Physics & Technology Delft University of Technology Remarkable progress is being made in the development of ultrafast scintillation detectors, driven by the need for detectors with better time resolution and/or higher count rate capability in medical imaging and other applications. This talk aims to provide a brief overview of …

Dr. Matteo Bucci Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, MIT   Abstract In every field of science, the possibility of discovering and understanding new phenomena, or testing new hypotheses, is strongly related to and limited by the capability of observation. Here, we will discuss recent advances in experimental boiling heat transfer research made possible …

Dr. Abdalla Abou-Jaoude Advanced Reactor Research Integrator Abstract: Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is at the forefront of the nation’s advanced reactor R&D effort. Advanced reactor are a promising form of baseload carbon free energy generation and several studies are expecting them to play a critical part in US decarbonization plans. The seminar presentation will be …

L Vergari Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign vergari@illinois.edu   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

  Jennifer Shusterman Staff Scientist, LLNL 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

Alexandre Bayen Liao-Cho Professor, EECS; Associate Provost for the Berkeley Space Center 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 sqft research hub, which will host research