Shirmir D. Branch Chemist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Abstract: The application of online monitoring to harsh environments, such as nuclear waste streams or molten salt reactors, presents the potential to enhance fundamental processes while significantly reducing operation cost, risk, and time. Optical spectroscopy as an online monitoring tool serves as a rapid, non- destructive method …

Zach Hartwig The Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor and Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering Abstract: Recent advances in high field superconducting magnet technology have opened a pathway to achieving fusion energy on accelerated timescales that could enable fusion to play a role in combating global climate change. This talk will give an overview …

Vedant K. Mehta, Ph.D. R&D Engineer Abstract: Next-gen small nuclear reactors or microreactors are gaining significant attention due to their utilization extending to civilian, military, and space applications. A few of the unique features that distinguish these reactors from current fleet of commercial power plant reactors is their use of high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel, newer …

Nicholas Fisher Distinguished Professor School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York Abstract: After the Fukushima accident in March 2011, marine organisms, seawater and sediment were contaminated with both 134Cs and 137Cs that was released into coastal waters. We analyzed radionuclides in Pacific biota, including plankton, diverse invertebrates, and pelagic …

Thomas Wellock Historian Abstract: Since the dawn of the Atomic Age, nuclear experts have confronted a deceptively simple question: When is a reactor "safe enough" to adequately protect the public? And, for 70 years, they have pursued a deceptively simple answer that quantified the probability of a major reactor accident. In his presentation, Tom Wellock …

Jan Schuemann, Ph.D. (he/him/his) Associate Professor Associate Director of Physics Research Head of the Multi-scale Monte-Carlo Modeling Lab Abstract: Modeling approaches offer a strong tool to understand mechanisms of complex processes, allowing us to probe correlations that are not accessible with experimental techniques. My lab uses the Monte Carlo method to investigate the effects of radiation …