UNLV 's department of chemistry was recently awarded a new research and development grant by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct advanced nuclear energy research, university officials announced today.
The three-year grant, totaling $687,288, was awarded through DOE's Nuclear Energy Research Initiative and will help scientists in UNLV's radiochemistry and Transmutation Research Programs create technologies that will decrease the amount of nuclear waste created in nuclear reactors.
Ken Czerwinski, UNLV associate professor of chemistry and one of the lead investigators on the project, says the grant helps fund research critical to the potential future development of nuclear energy in this country.
"This project is an example of the unique capabilities we have developed at UNLV over the last two years and is strengthened by our collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory," Czerwinski said. "We expect to expand our program's facilities, expertise, and collaborations with national laboratories to continue addressing the most difficult and interesting scientific questions in our field."
Initial work on the project, titled "Solution-Based Synthesis of Nitride Fuels," will officially begin in May. Researchers will seek to minimize or eliminate impurities that occur during the synthesis and fabrication of nitride -- a fuel considered to have the appropriate properties for
advanced nuclear fuels, including high thermal conductivity, thermal stability, solid-state solubility of actinides, fissile metal density, and suitable neutronic properties .
Several UNLV faculty, post doctorate researchers, and students will collaborate closely with researchers from the DOE and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
UNLV is one of only 17 institutions nationwide to be selected for the competitive research awards. Other institutions to receive funding for related research include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, among others.
"These awards support the DOE's advanced nuclear technology development efforts and foster the education and training of the next generation of scientists and engineers needed to move this vital industry forward," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman.
Other researchers involved in the project include Thomas Hartmann, research scientist and director for structure and solid phase analysis at UNLV's Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies; Al Sattelberger, visiting faculty member in UNLV's chemistry department; and Gordon Jarvinen and David Clark at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
The grants were awarded through DOE's Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI), which was created to address and help overcome the technical and scientific barriers to maintaining and expanding nuclear generation of electricity in the United States.
About UNLV's Radiochemistry and Transmutation Research Programs.
UNLV's Radiochemistry Ph.D. Program is dedicated to the study of the chemical and physical properties of radioactive elements. It was established in 2004 by the departments of health physics and chemistry and includes participants from the Harry Reid Center's Nuclear Science and Technology Group .
UNLV's Transmutation Research Program (TRP) is housed in the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies and is a component of the DOE's Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative. The TRP currently consists of more than 20 different research projects designed to develop the technology to recycle used nuclear fuel, to reuse some of the "waste" components, and to reduce radiotoxicity, volume, and management requirements for the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.
