TAMU-NE Students Attend Short Course on NDA Applications for International Safeguards at ORNL

From November 16-20, 2009, a group of Texas A&M NE students and instructors, along with students from the Bush School, participated in a Non-Destructive Assay (NDA) Applications for International Safeguards Short Course at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Students from NUEN 605 (Radiation Detection and Nuclear Materials Measurements) and NUEN 650 (Nuclear Nonproliferation and Arms Control) learned about applied nondestructive assay measurement techniques in nuclear material safeguards, discussed nonproliferation issues with NSSPI and ORNL staff, and gained first-hand experience in measuring special nuclear material using state-of-the-art technologies. This was the first course to incorporate both nuclear engineering students and international affairs students from the Bush School of Government Affairs and Public Policy. The dialogue between students added to the experience at ORNL when discussing applications of such safeguards measurement techniques.

In addition to the course, all students visited unique ORNL facilities such as the Spallation Neutron Source and the X-10 Graphite Reactor, as well as visiting Canberra's high-purity germanium crystal growing facility and ORTEC-AMETEK's main manufacturing facility and germanium crystal growing facility.

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TAMU ANS Student Chapter Helps Local Scouts with Merit Badge

On Saturday, October 24th, The Texas A&M Chapter of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) hosted local Boy Scout Troop 743 to help them complete the requirements for the Nuclear Science Merit Badge. ANS Scouting Coordinator, Wes Deason, organized and planned the event. Wes, a former Eagle Scout, was “excited to help ANS host its first merit badge workshop.”

Scouts spent their entire day at A&M learning about nuclear science. They learned about nuclear interactions, radiation, radiation safety, careers in nuclear science and engineering, and related topics. Scouts also toured the Nuclear Science Center (NSC), located close to campus. Scouts completed all of their requirements for the merit badge during the day-long event.

Texas A&M ANS plans to continue to host this event in the future, and bring in troops from across the state.

Pictured in photos: William Sames and Wes Deason with the troop in front of the Nuclear Science Center (left); Wes Deason teaching troop about nuclear science (right).

Dercher wins NEUP Fellowship

Andrew Dercher, a graduate student in the TAMU Nuclear Engineering Department, has been awarded a fellowship through the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy as part of their Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP). Dercher is currently working with Dr. Karen Vierow on improvements to the decay heat removal system for gas-cooled fast reactors. He is originally from Radnor, Pennsylvania and earned his B.S. in Nuclear Engineering at Penn State.

According to the Office of Nuclear Energy, "The scholarships and fellowships granted under the NEUP program will help to recruit and train the next generation of nuclear scientists and engineers – a critical need as the nation moves toward greater use of nuclear energy to meet our energy needs and address the global climate crisis." In 2009, the NEUP program awarded 76 scholarships and 18 fellowships (approximately $2.9 million) to U.S. nuclear science and engineering students. The fellowship awarded to Dercher provides $150,000 over three years.

Also included in this award announcement were three undergraduate scholarship recipients from Nuclear Engineering: Michael Hackemack, Jesse Johns, and William Sames. Each will receive a one-year award of $5000.

William Charlton To Present Science Café Tonight

Dr. William Charlton, Associate Professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, will speak on "Nuclear Power and the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation" on the October Science Cafe session to be held at 7 p.m. today (Oct. 20) at Revolution Cafe & Bar (downtown Bryan). Science Cafe started in Fall 2007, as an effort to bring science back to the public.

Wagoner Awarded HPS Fellowship

David Wagoner, a 2nd year Health Physics Masters student in the department, has recently been awarded the 2009-2010 HPS Robert Gardner Fellowship. This fellowship was established by Catherine C. Gardner and is sponsored jointly by the Gardner Fund and by the Health Physics Society. The award includes $5000 in support and a travel grant to attend the 2010 HPS Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Wagoner is currently working with Dr. Braby in investigating low-energy photon quality factors. He is originally from Charleston, SC , and has a B.S. from Frances Marion University.

Goddard wins INMM Student Paper Award

TAMU Nuclear Engineering student Braden Goddard won the J. D. Williams Student Paper Award at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management (INMM), which was held in Tucson, Arizona July 12-16, 2009. His paper, "Real-Time Detection of UREX+3a Extraction Streams for Materials Accountancy," was co-authored by Dr. Charlton and Dr. McDeavitt and was in competition with 32 other student papers. Goddard was also awarded a cash prize of $1000.

Nuclear Safeguards Education Portal (NSEP) Launch

This week marked the official launch of the Nuclear Safeguards Education Portal, a group of Distance Education modules aimed at providing education and outreach to those with an interest in enhancing security of nuclear materials and facilities. NSEP is maintained by the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) at Texas A&M University and was developed through the work of Dr. William Charlton, D. Grant Ford, Jr., Dr. Wen-Hsing Hsu, Kelley Ragusa, and Dr. Daniel Reece. Funding for NSEP was provided by the Office of Nonproliferation and International Security (NA-24) of the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

NSEP is continually under development with new educational offerings becoming available periodically. The modules currently being offered include "Basic Nuclear and Atomic Physics," "The Commercial Fuel Cycle: Beginner's Course," and "Basic Nuclear Detection." Visit the NSEP website.

TAMU NE Undergrads Attend Safeguards Training at ORNL

Several TAMU nuclear engineering juniors visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Safeguards Laboratory during the week of May 26-29, 2009 for Nuclear Material Safeguards Nondestructive Assay Techniques education and practical training, hosted by the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute(NSSPI). Students learned about applied nondestructive assay measurement techniques in nuclear material safeguards, discussed nonproliferation issues with NSSPI and ORNL staff, and gained first-hand experience in measuring special nuclear material using state-of-the-art technologies. In addition, students visited unique ORNL facilities such as the Spallation Neutron Source, the X-10 Graphite Reactor, and Canberra's high-purity germanium crystal growing facility. The group was accompanied by Dr. John Poston and NSSPI staff members D. Grant Ford and Claudio Gariazzo.

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Aggie Metcalf Featured as INL "Rising Star"

TAMU Nuclear Engineering graduate Richard Metcalf has recently been featured in an article in the Idaho National Laboratory news. The article gives Metcalf's personal and professional biography, including the work he has done at TAMU within the Nuclear Engineering Department and the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI), and characterizes him as a "rising star" at INL. Metcalf completed his M.S. in Nuclear Engineering under Dr. Charlton and Dr. Ragusa in May 2009, defending his thesis, "New Tool For Proliferation Resistance Evaluation Applied To Uranium And Thorium Fueled Fast Reactor Fuel Cycles" in February of this year.

Metcalf will be returning to TAMU in the fall to pursue a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and a Homeland Security Certificate through the Bush School.

To read the article in its entirety, go to the INL news site.

Cochran Memorial Scholarship

The Department of Nuclear Engineering has established the Robert G. Cochran Memorial Scholarship in Nuclear Engineering to honor the memory of founding department head, Dr. Bob Cochran.

For 22 years Dr. Cochran served as inaugural department head of Texas A&M’s nuclear engineering department, destined to become the nation’s largest. Under his leadership, the discipline's first undergraduate program emerged as did Texas A&M's signature specialties in reactor physics and analysis, reactor safety and thermal hydraulics, health physics and computational methods.

He was instrumental in setting up the AGN-201 teaching reactor, currently in Zachry Engineering Center, and in constructing the Nuclear Science Center with the TRIGA-Mark II reactor. He co-authored The Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Analysis and Management, the textbook used today, and was a mentor to students who entered every aspect of the nuclear industry, including many in top leadership positions. He was a founder and charter member of the American Nuclear Society, and in great demand as a consultant to the Atomic Energy Commission, Air Force, Navy, national energy laboratories, numerous universities and private industry. The National Academy of Sciences named him chair of its Research Reactor Subcommittee. Bob Cochran dedicated his life to the development of nuclear energy and to Texas A&M nuclear engineering. This endowment is a lasting tribute to his legacy.

See More Information | Download Pledge Form

NE Faculty Honored at Awards Banquet

The Dwight Look College of Engineering held its annual Faculty Awards Banquet on April 23 at the Miramont Country Club in Bryan. Two NE faculty members, Dr. Jean Ragusa and Dr. Pavel Tsvetkov, were among the engineering faculty honored at this event. Dr. Ragusa was awarded the William O. and Montine P. Head Faculty Fellow award for overall contribution to the College, and Dr. Tsvetkov was presented the Caterpillar Teaching Excellence Award for his dedication to educating students. Both Dr. Ragusa and Dr. Tsvetkov are Assistant Professors in the Nuclear Engineering Department.

Entergy Student Internships Available

Entergy Nuclear has a number of student intern positions open in their Corporate Office in Jackson, Mississippi. The company is looking for individuals with a legitimate interest in Entergy as a potential career path and hopes that these internships will provide an opportunity for them to learn more about the students and for the students to learn more about working at Entergy.

Salaries are competitive and vary depending on the student’s classification. Stipends for relocation are also offered. Final decisions should be made before May 1.

If you are interested, please write an expression of interest letter, along with a copy of your resume, and send it along to Ms. Shannon Pope (spope@ne.tamu.edu). Dr. Juzaitis will review these and send these on to our contact at Entergy. Given their timeline, please send your input by Friday, April 3, 2009.

Miller Paper Selected Winner of NPT Noncompliance Paper Contest

Karen Miller, a graduate student in Nuclear Engineering, has been selected the winner of the Nonproliferation Treaty Noncompliance Paper Contest held by the Standing Committee on International Security of Radioactive and Nuclear Materials under the Nonproliferation and Arms Control Division of the INMM. Her paper, "When is Noncompliance, Noncompliance?" was presented at the Third Annual Workshop on Reducing the Risk from Nuclear and Radioactive Materials, held March 10-11, 2009 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her paper will now be submitted for publication to the Journal of Nuclear Materials Management. Read this paper.

Jarrell Wins Roy G. Post Scholarship

Joshua Jarrell, a graduate student in the Texas A&M Nuclear Engineering Department, was awarded a $5000 scholarship from the Post Foundation on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at the Waste Management 2009 (WM2009) Awards Luncheon, which was held in Phoenix, AZ . Jarrell has a B.S. from Texas A&M (2006) and is currently working on his Ph.D.. The Roy G. Post Foundation (named after a former Arizona Professor) was created to support students and encourage them to enter the field of Nuclear Waste Management. Jarrell’s scholarship was backed by Tetra Tech.

Highlights from Aggieland Saturday

On February 21, the Department of Nuclear Engineering participated in Aggieland Saturday, a campus wide event designed to introduce prospective students to the university. The Department of Nuclear Engineering had one of the most popular booths in the Zachry Engineering Center where information was passed out and prospective students had an opportunity to talk to faculty members and current students about what nuclear engineers and health physicists do, as well as what programs we have available. Over 400 people visited our booth and 300 packets of information were passed out.

In addition to the standard information booth, tours of the radiation detection and measurement laboratories were also given by Claudio Gariazzo of the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) and Chris Prause, the laboratory manager for Nuclear Engineering, to over 100 high school students and their families. The experience gave students a chance to see what study in Nuclear Engineering looks like from the "inside." Prause and Gariazzo discussed various areas of graduate research and careers in the radiological health/health physics areas and the nonproliferation/nuclear security areas, respectively. Students were able to ask questions regarding the curriculum that incorporated the laboratories, possible projects that could utilize the hardware, and graduate-level study that would apply the basic theories learned in these laboratories. It also afforded a more informal forum to discuss students' prospects in Nuclear Engineering beyond their undergraduate educations, as the conversations veered towards career opportunities and graduate studies. According to Gariazzo, "The high school students and their parents were very welcoming of the comments and enthusiastic about the prospects for their futures within TAMU’s Nuclear Engineering department."

Nuclear Engineering was represented at Aggieland Saturday by Department Head Dr. Raymond Juzaitis, as well as faculty members, Dr. John Poston and Dr. William Marlow, undergraduate recruiter Beth Earl, and student volunteers Spencer Mickum, Kevin Kapka, Adam Shephard, Maria Catanach, William Sames, John Martin, Chris Saindon, Courtney Cathey, Marie Cronholm, Tyrell Foster, and Alex Smith.

Tsvetkov to Participate in "Deep Burn" Reactor Project

Following the Department of Energy award of $7.3M for "Deep-Burn" Gas-Reactor Technology Research & Development last year, a team of national laboratories and universities led by Idaho National Laboratory proceeds with Research and Development in the Transuranic Management Capabilities of the Deep-Burn VHTR. The INL-led team members focusing on neutronics performance and optimization include LOGOS, UC-Berkeley, Texas A&M University, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Stadsvik-Scandpower.

In this effort, TAMU Department of Nuclear Engineering faculty member, Dr. Pavel Tsvetkov, will conduct R&D activities on the development of optimization and shuffling methodology for the Deep-Burn VHTR. TAMU will coordinate work with other team members, particularly, GA-Tech, LOGOS, and INL.

According to the U.S. D.O.E. Press Release and the D.O.E. Assistant Secretary, “this revolutionary technology not only advances nuclear power production but reduces the amount of radioactive waste produced in the end. Deep-Burn R&D is valuable; it has the potential to greatly reduce the amount of long-lasting waste produced by the nation’s next generation of nuclear power reactors. At the same time this technology could greatly increase the amount of safe, economical, carbon-free electricity generated by advanced nuclear fuel.”

Link to the full announcement: http://nuclear.gov/newsroom/2008PRs/nePR072308b.html

Contact: Dr. Pavel Tsvetkov, Tsvetkov@tamu.edu

Department Hosts Director General of Nigeria's Atomic Energy Commission

On Wednesday, the Department of Nuclear Engineering welcomed Dr. F. (Franklin) Erepamo Osaisai, the Director-General/Chief Executive of Nigeria’s Atomic Energy Commission, to Texas A&M for an informal visit.

Dr. Osaisai came to Texas A&M to learn about our department and to explore the possibility of partnering with Texas A&M to meet their goal of rapidly building up the needed human infrastructure in Nigeria to support his country’s desire to add nuclear power plants to their grid in the future.

Dr. Osaisai was given an overview of the department by Dr. Hassan, a presentation on the department's Nuclear Safety Curriculum Development initiative by Dr. Vierow, and a presentation on the Nuclear Power Institute by Dr. Poston. Ayodeji Alanjo, a Nigerian student currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Nuclear Engineering department, was also in attendance and spoke to his own experience in our program. Dr. Osaisai spoke of his country's wish to develop native nuclear engineering departments in Nigeria to support the eventual introduction of nuclear power there and discussed possible strategies for achieving this goal. Dr. Osaisai went on to tour the campus and visit the reactor at the Nuclear Science Center during the remainder of his stay in College Station.

McDeavitt quoted in article on the future of nuclear energy

Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering Dr. Sean McDeavitt was quoted in a January 9th article in the Houston Chronicle discussing the future of nuclear energy. In the article, Dr. McDeavitt expresses the challenges that face the nuclear power push, that although there is "clearly momentum building in favor of nuclear energy," it will take a "Manhattan Project-type commitment" to solve the difficult issues that still plague the nuclear energy solution.

To read the article, go directly to the Houston Chronicle article.