UNR mathematician receives nuclear energy grant
University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) mathematics researcher and faculty member Pavel 
Solin can help make a nuclear reactor run more efficiently, and he will be using scientific computing to prove it as part of a national effort to develop the next generation of nuclear technologies.
Solin will be receiving a $587,000 grant from the Department of Energy as part of their investment in cutting-edge nuclear energy research and development under the new Nuclear Energy University Program.
“I will be using new, highly sophisticated computational methods to improve the quality of computer simulations of the processes in nuclear reactors, which are described via very complicated equations,” Solin said. “The processes inside the reactor involve, among others, neutron flux, thermal hydraulics, structural materials and oxygen release. The processes require advanced coupled flow, thermal and structural analysis as the reactor swells with changing temperatures and pressures.” 
Solin’s work can solve many physical processes simultaneously while current computational methods only analyze one physical process at a time.
Nationwide, 71 university research projects have been selected as part of the Department of Energy’s investment in cutting-edge nuclear energy research and development. By helping to develop the next generation of advanced nuclear technologies, the Nuclear Energy University Program will play a key role in addressing the global climate crisis and moving the nation toward greater use of nuclear energy, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu said.
Technorati Tags: University of Nevada Reno, UNR, Pavel Solin, Department of Energy, DOE, nuclear technologies, Nuclear Energy University Program, Steven Chu, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology
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