Nuclear engineering's Andrew Dercher

Andrew Dercher, a graduate student in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded a fellowship through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy as part of its Nuclear Energy University Program (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, Penn., 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 Texas A&M’s nuclear engineering department: Michael Hackemack, Jesse Johns and William Sames. Each will receive a one-year award of $5,000.

Submitted by Shannon Pope, spope@tamu.edu

Popularity: unranked [?]

Dr. Warren F. “Pete” Miller, assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy, will present a talk Thursday (Oct. 15) at 5 p.m. in Room 106 of the Jack E. Brown Engineering Building at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Warren F. "Pete" Miller

A reception will precede the lecture at 4:30 p.m.

Miller’s talk, “DOE Nuclear Energy Programs: The Long and the Short/the Far and the Near,” will be hosted by the Department of Nuclear Engineering and the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI).

In the talk, Miller will present his vision on how nuclear power must contribute in a major way to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, economic growth, and energy security. The DOE nuclear energy programs in the next few years will focus on five imperatives to support these requirements:

• Enable new builds for electricity generation;
• Enable safe extension of the lifetime of the existing fleet;
• Lead the efforts to deploy nuclear power in applications beyond electricity generation (thereby replacing coal and natural gas generation);
• Create approaches to close the nuclear fuel cycle through goal-oriented, science-based R&D; and
• Better understand and reduce proliferation risks associated with large scale deployment of nuclear power.

Miller was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the assistant secretary of energy in the Office of Nuclear Energy in the Obama Administration. Most recently, he was a research professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M and associate director of the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI).

Miller is retired from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he was employed from 1974 to 2001. While at Los Alamos, he served as associate laboratory director for energy programs, as well as for physics and mathematics. He was deputy laboratory director from 1986 to 1988. Miller graduated from West Point and received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University. He began his research career at Los Alamos in the area of Reactor and Transport Theory. He is a member and Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Submitted by Shannon Pope, spope@tamu.edu

Popularity: unranked [?]

David Wagoner

David Wagoner, a second-year student in the Department of Nuclear Engineering’s Health Physics Master’s Program, has been awarded the 2009-2010 Health Physics Society Robert Gardner Fellowship.

This fellowship was established by Catherine C. Gardner and is sponsored jointly by HPS and the Gardner Fund. The award includes $5,000 in support and a travel grant to attend the 2010 HPS Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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

Originally posted at http://tamunuclearnews.blogspot.com/2009/09/wagoner-awarded-hps-fellowship_24.html

Popularity: unranked [?]

Texas A&M was one of 70 institutions that was awarded Nuclear Education Grants by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to boost nuclear education and expand the workforce in nuclear and nuclear-related disciplines.

Texas A&M received $376,609 in Fellowship Grants, $123,371 for Nuclear Education and Curriculum Development — Initial Grant, and $125,000 for Nuclear Education and Curriculum Development — Second Year Funding. In all, the NRC awarded nearly $20 million.

“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has moved out smartly in supporting the educational development of the nation’s next generation of nuclear professionals,” said Dr. Raymond J. Juzaitis, head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering. “Texas A&M is proud to participate as a key player in this initiative. The NRC grants will allow us to better attract the best and brightest students to our department.”

Also, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, a member of The Texas A&M University System, received $198,772 in Scholarship Grants.

Congress provided the NRC funding for a $5 million Educational Curriculum program and an additional $15 million to supplement the NRC’s grant program for scholarships and fellowships, faculty development, trade schools, and community colleges, with $5 million of that amount designated for the Integrated University Program.

The NRC awarded 102 grants for scholarships ($2.9 million), fellowships ($5.4 million), faculty development ($4.8 million) trade and community college scholarships ($1.8 million) and nuclear education and curriculum development ($4.8 million).

Grant proposals were reviewed against specific criteria by a panel comprised of senior

NRC staff and qualified outside reviewers. The panel composition was diverse with most reviewers having both experience reviewing proposals for government agencies and advanced credentials in nuclear engineering, health physics, radiochemistry and related disciplines.

Written by Tim Schnettler

Popularity: unranked [?]

Dr. Frederick Best

Dr. Frederick Best, an associate professor at Texas A&M’s Department of Nuclear Engineering, has been invited by the National Academies (NAC) to participate in a two-year NASA study titled “Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space.” The survey will establish a life and physical sciences research portfolio for NASA for the 2010-2020 decade. Best will serve on the Translation to Space Exploration Systems Panel.

According to NAC, this congressionally mandated study will help develop exploration capabilities and revitalize NASA’s research in biological and physical sciences.

The decadal survey will establish priorities and provide recommendations for life and physical sciences research to be conducted by NASA in microgravity and partial gravity over the next ten years. The survey will also suggest a timeline for the recommended research, identify facility and platform requirements, validate suggested programs, define dependencies between research objectives, identify terrestrial benefits and specify whether the research results will directly enable exploration or produce fundamental new knowledge.

Written by Marissa Doshi

Popularity: 19% [?]

The United States is in an energy crisis, prompting power companies to look for young engineers to help solve this crisis.

To fulfill this need for a new engineering and technology workforce, the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University has created a Power Engineering Technology (PET) emphasis within the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution (ETID).

Students are already enrolling in PET coursework, which gives them a solid grounding in electronics and mechanical engineering technology. Although the emphasis is on nuclear energy, the curriculum is broad enough to ensure that graduates will be equipped to work in any branch of the power industry.

“Graduates will have many opportunities. They will be able to work not only in nuclear power plants but also in companies involved in transmitting and distributing power,” said Dr. Jay Porter, program director and associate professor in ETID.

The power industry—the nuclear power sector in particular—is set for rapid growth. In Texas, South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC), Luminant and Exelon have announced their intentions to license and build six new nuclear power plants. These plants will require approximately 2,000 qualified personnel to operate and maintain them.

“The majority of the power industry workforce is older than 45 years, and many of these employees will retire within 7-10 years. It’s an aging workforce, and the power sector needs new young engineers,” Porter said.

To fulfill its immediate, short-term and long-term workforce needs, STPNOC approached ETID and the nuclear engineering department in 2007 with a proposal to create a four-year degree that focused on power engineering technology. The departments responded quickly. A faculty member, Dr. Wei Zhan, spent the summer of 2007 onsite at STPNOC learning about its workforce needs. Using this knowledge, a new curriculum was designed by modifying existing courses.

This curriculum includes a strong emphasis in three technical areas:

• Electronic engineering technology, with a focus in the areas of power, instrumentation and control.
• Mechanical engineering technology, with a focus in the areas of materials, thermal systems and mechanics.
• Nuclear engineering, with a focus in nuclear reactor physics and operation and radiological safety.

To date, the college has received $200,000 from the Texas Workforce Commission towards this project. Students will be taught by faculty from the departments of ETID and nuclear engineering and participate in internships in companies such as STPNOC.

The Power Engineering Technology emphasis is multidisciplinary. It is a joint venture between the Dwight Look College of Engineering and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), which is the engineering research agency the State of Texas and a member of The Texas A&M University System.

For more information, contact Dr. Jay Porter

Written by Marissa Doshi

Popularity: 64% [?]

Dr. Warren F. Miller Jr., research professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University as been confirmed for the position of assistant secretary for nuclear energy in the U.S. Department of Energy.

Dr. Warren F. Miller Jr.

Miller, who is also the associate director of the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute at Texas A&M, was one of three appointments announced by Obama in June.

“I am excited about the opportunity to help advance nuclear energy for electricity production in the United States and, indeed, around the world,” Miller said. “But, I will miss my colleagues in Aggieland.”

Miller is a part-time professor at Texas A&M and is a resident of Albuquerque, N.M. He is originally from Chicago and holds a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Miller received his M.S. in engineering sciences from Northwestern University in 1970.

He earned his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Northwestern University and served for many years as a researcher and administrator at Los Alamos National Laboratory, retiring in 2001. Miller was elected as a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society in 1982 and was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 1996.

Written by: Tim Schnettler

Popularity: 100% [?]

Dr. Lin Shao

Lin Shao, assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Shao’s award is the 10th CAREER award received by Texas A&M Engineering faculty in 2008-2009.

As a recipient of the prestigious award, Shao will receive $430,000 over the next five years for his research to explore the radiation response and stability of nanostructured materials. These materials could be used in the next generation of high-temperature nuclear reactors.

“Nanostructured materials are expected to have exceptional radiation tolerance,” Shao said. “If these materials are to be used in nuclear engineering, we need to understand atomic-scale details, particularly boundary instability under harsh environments. That’s the aim of my research.”

His research has the potential to improve fundamental understanding of materials degradation issues and lead to cleaner, safer and more efficient nuclear energy.

“At the nanoscale level, the classical ion-solid interaction theory does not work, and so, this research is fundamentally exciting,” Shao said.

His research will also impact the application of a wide range of nanomaterials-based devices, sensors and detectors used in extreme-radiation environments such as space.

Shao, who earned his doctoral degree in physics from the University of Houston in 2001, joined the faculty at Texas A&M University in 2006. Before joining Texas A&M, Shao was a Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Shao’s CAREER-funded project has a significant educational component. His Accelerator Laboratory has a total of five accelerators (two acquired and three existing low-energy ones), making it one of the largest university ion-irradiation facilities in the United States. The laboratory has played an active role in building an interdisciplinary research program in ion-beam studies and has provided hands-on training for students across the campus. Shao said he also plans to create e-learning resources to promote public learning about nuclear materials research.

The CAREER Award was established to support junior faculty within the context of their overall career development, combining in a single program the support of research and education of the highest quality and in the broadest sense. Through this program, the NSF emphasizes the importance on the early development of academic careers dedicated to stimulating the discovery process in which the excitement of research is enhanced by inspired teaching and enthusiastic learning. For more on the NSF and the CAREER program, visit http://www.nsf.gov.

Written by Marissa Doshi

Popularity: 35% [?]

Dr. Warren F. Miller Jr., research professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been nominated by President Barack Obama for the position of assistant secretary for nuclear energy in the U.S. Department of Energy.

Dr. Warren F. Miller Jr.

Miller, who is also the associate director of the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute at Texas A&M, is one of three appointments announced by Obama in June.

Miller is a part-time professor at Texas A&M and is a resident of Albuquerque, N.M. He is originally from Chicago and holds a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Miller received his M.S. in engineering sciences from Northwestern University in 1970.

He earned his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Northwestern University and served for many years as a researcher and administrator at Los Alamos National Laboratory, retiring in 2001. Miller was elected as a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society in 1982 and was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 1996.

Written by: Tim Schnettler

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Texas A&M University System has recognized 10 Texas A&M Engineering faculty members with the 2009 Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr. Daniel F. Jennings, the I. Andrew Rader Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, was among the Top 5 percent of faculty honorees.

Other recipients include:

• Luciana Barroso, associate professor, Zachry Department of Civil Engineering
• Jaime Grunlan, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Kalyana Nakshatrala, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Arunachalam Narayanan, assistant professor, Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution
• Devesh Ranjan, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Bryan Rasmussen, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Lin Shao, assistant professor, Department of Nuclear Engineering
• Byung-Jun Yoon, assistant professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Salih Yurttas, senior lecturer, Department of Computer Science and Engineering

These faculty were among the 54 Texas A&M University honorees and the 144 system-wide faculty members recognized by the A&M System, which awarded more than $500,000 in the second presentation of the Teaching Excellence Awards, a voluntary, student-selected honors program launched in Fall 2008. Awards are based on rankings from uations created and administered by students, with weighting for factors such as class size.

The program was initiated by Chancellor Michael D. McKinney in 2008 to honor and financially reward the system’s top teachers as selected by students. For the spring 2009 semester, the program expanded to all the campuses in the A&M System. All faculty who teach at least a 3-hour course are eligible.

Lesley V. Kriewald, lesleyk@tamu.edu

Popularity: 37% [?]