Category: Nuclear

A visibly nervous man is stopped at a border crossing in eastern Europe. Authorities find a glass tube filled with black powder inside a heavy lead container in his trunk. Geiger counters go crazy. The powder is radioactive. North Korea conducts a nuclear test, and within hours, U.S. “sniffer” planes scramble to gather air samples […]

As the world grapples with the need for carbon-free power generation, advanced reactor designs are crucial to the transition. A Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP)-funded investigation into the behavior of U-Zr annular fuel will not only address uncertainties in advanced reactor designs but also contribute to the broader goal of establishing […]

Kyle C. Hartig, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Nuclear Engineering Program within the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, continues to set the standard in the field of nuclear materials security.   The Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) has recognized Dr. Hartig with its 2023 Early Career Award presented at its 53rd annual meeting in […]

Light Water Reactors (LWRs) are the most widely used type of nuclear reactor in the world. However, as alternative designs continue to emerge and gain traction, they may represent the future of clean power generation.   One of those designs, the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), uses a liquid mixture of salts as both a coolant and […]

The UF Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) and the UF Nuclear Engineering Program (NE), housed within the department, continue their stay among the best-ranked graduate school programs at public universities in the U.S.  The 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings among U.S. public universities place the MSE graduate program […]

Congratulations to Assel Aitkaliyeva, Ph.D., recipient of the 2022-2023 Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. Dr. Aitkaliyeva is an associate professor in the Nuclear Engineering Program housed within the Department of Materials Science & Engineering.  “Advising and mentoring graduate students, from recruiting and guiding them through the first challenging year […]

For decades, the United States has been at the forefront of reducing the number of nuclear arms worldwide and curtailing the spread of illicit atomic-based technology. It has also led the way in developing the advanced nuclear forensics capabilities needed to bolster this effort. But to extend the U.S.’s ongoing nuclear nonproliferation and security capabilities, […]

Engineers from UF’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) are collaborating on research investigating neutron irradiation-induced embrittlement in nuclear reactor pressure vessels. Douglas Spearot, Ph.D., professor of MAE and principal investigator, and Assel Aitkaliyeva, Ph.D., associate professor of MSE, are part of the $800,000 study. […]

Jennifer Andrew, Ph.D., has been promoted to full professor, and Assel Aitkaliyeva, Ph.D., has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.   Dr. Andrew received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and her B.S. from Northwestern University, both in Materials Science and Engineering. She joined the University of Florida in 2011 following […]

Nuclear Engineering student Emily Kwapis Wins the 2022 Atomic Section Student Award