Category: Research

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 […]

Josephine Allen, Ph.D., associate professor and Genzyme Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, has received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R21 Award to better understand the native behaviors of cells in the human body. Dr. Allen seeks to develop a DNA-based hydrogel platform that recreates the complex network of molecules and proteins that provide […]

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 […]

What if airplanes could morph and dynamically change shape during flight, similar to birds?  It may sound too good to be true. Still, engineers at the University of Florida Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) are working toward a future that may allow that exact scenario to become commonplace.  Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are […]

Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) undergraduates Colton Ginter and Akash Ram each received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship.   Ginter began his undergraduate education at The State College of Florida (SCF) and transferred to UF in 2020. In the summer of 2021, he completed a Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship […]

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, […]