Article Archives

The Michigan Center for Materials Characterization, also known as (MC)2, has been approved to become a University of Michigan Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) partner facility.

The Michigan Center for Materials Characterization, also known as (MC)2, has been approved to become a University of Michigan Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) partner facility. The (MC)2 joins two other University of Michigan laboratories that are already part of the NSUF, the Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory (MIBL) and the Irradiated Materials Testing Laboratory (IMTL), directed by Professor Gary Was. (MC)2 is directed by Professor Alan Taub. NSUF provides researchers access to neutron, ion, and gamma irradiations, post-irradiation examination, and beamline capabilities from 50 partner facilities. Most of the research looks at either understanding the mechanisms of radiation on materials and fuels to address the challenges of...

Read More

Peng Xu will serve as the new NSUF Industry Lead and Tiera Cate is joining NSUF as the Communications Liaison. Learn more about the latest additions to the NSUF Program Office.

Communications Liaison As the new Communications Liaison for the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF), Tiera Cate is excited to help amplify the important work taking place through NSUF and its partner facilities. The aim is to maintain consistent communication and aid in making information as transparent as possible. Cate previously supported project management work at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), an essential Idaho National Laboratory asset, where she highlighted successful projects through the Plant Health Program Accomplishments Report. Prior to working for INL, Cate provided technical administrative support for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Boise, Idaho, by supporting their...

Read More

In place of the annual Users Organization Meeting, NSUF Director, Dr. Rory Kennedy, held a Q&A Webinar on March 18, 2021. This gave an overview of the program as well as answered questions from NSUF Users. The presentation from the Webinar is now available.

The presentation from the Webinar is now available. In place of the annual Users Organization Meeting, NSUF Director, Dr. Rory Kennedy, held a Q&A Webinar on March 18, 2021. This presentation provided an overview of the Nuclear Science User Facilities and useful contacts. It highlighted Action Areas such as executing awarded projects and expanding high performance computing via Falcon and Sawtooth. NSUF is continuing to track citations, publications, and facility utilization. Some of the questions included: Q: How can we reinforce student led RTE projects? Could we have a separate call just for students? A: Although we do...

Read More

The Annual Report is now available. NSUF has continued to be productive despite 2020 being such an unusual year. View the report here.

The Annual Report is now available. The FY 2020 Annual Report is now available. With 2020 being such an unusual year, as well as a significant reduction to funding, NSUF still awarded 56 Rapid Turnaround Experiments and eight Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research projects. Some highlights for the FY-20 Annual Report include: NSUF accomplishments beyond its access awards e.g., Capability updates like the Sawtooth supercomputer and access to the Michigan Ion Beam Lab (MIBL) transmission electron microscope NSUF By the Numbers, highlighting the 64 total access awards given, made possible even with a significant reduction in funding for FY-20 The...

Read More

Researchers view materials at the Irradiated Materials Characterization LaboratorySince its inception a decade ago, the Nuclear Fuels and Materials Library (NFML) has blossomed into one of the largest assortments of nuclear fuels and materials available to the general nuclear research community for individual testing and research. These specimens range from conventional and advanced steels to experimental alloys, as well as ceramics and fuels, many of which were used inside of nuclear reactors. Operated and managed by the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF), NFML was initially conceptualized by the NSUF staff who identified an abundance of legacy materials from past research and...

Read More

To get a job done, you need the right tool. Researchers now have one that will make their job easier.Most experiments run through the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) have the same underlying goal: quantifying changes in material properties. These changes arise from the radiation damage caused to a sample placed in a nuclear reactor.When designing these material science experiments, NSUF researchers have to make some choices: which reactor or reactors among those available would be best to use, where to place a sample within the reactor, how long to irradiate the test material and to what radiation damage levels...

Read More

Like with many things, the spread of COVID-19 has impacted the Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) award process. Proposals submitted in the second RTE call are still being reviewed. Award letters were originally scheduled to be sent June 1. However, this will most likely be delayed. The third RTE is anticipated to open on August 3, 2020. If you have questions about RTEs, please contact Jeff Benson (jeff.benson@inl.gov)....

Read More

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) postdoctoral researcher Kaustubh Bawane attributes much of his career success so far to a 2018 Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) award he received while working on his doctoral thesis at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.The NSUF access award allowed Bawane to irradiate the nuclear fuel cladding materials he was studying, use cutting-edge instruments often unavailable to university students and ultimately secure his two-year postdoctoral position at INL that started in February 2020. To add to the journey, Bawane was recently awarded a second NSUF project that will allow him to utilize Texas A&M University's Accelerator...

Read More

The presentations from the NSUF Users Organization Meeting are now available. If you have questions about any of the presentations, please contact the presenter. Facility Flash TalksArgonne National Laboratory (MeiMei Li)Brookhaven National Laboratory (Lynne Ecker)Center for Advanced Energy Studies (Yaqiao Wu)Idaho National Laboratory (Brenden Heidrich)Los Alamos National Laboratory (Tarik Saleh)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Gordon Kohse)North Carolina State University (Ayman Hawari)Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Kory Linton) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Ramprashad Prabhakharan)Purdue University (Janelle Wharry)Sandia National Laboratories (Khalid Hattar) SCK-CEN (Steven van Dyck)The Ohio State University (Praneeth Kandlakunta)University of California, Berkeley (Peter Hosemann) University of Florida (Assel Aitkaliyeva) University of Michigan (Kevin Field) University of Wisconsin (Hongliang...

Read More

The second FY 2020 Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) has opened. Proposals are due Thursday, March 12.The RTE award process offers an avenue for researchers to perform irradiation effects studies of limited scope on nuclear fuels and materials of interest utilizing NSUF facilities. Completion of RTE projects is expected within 9 months of award. Prospective researchers are strongly encouraged to request samples from the NSUF Nuclear Fuels and Materials Library.RTE proposals are solicited and awarded three times per year. They are reviewed and evaluated for technical merit, relevancy, and feasibility. The number of awards is dependent on the availability of funding. Further...

Read More

When the Wright brothers were building the world’s first aircraft, the inventors’ primary concern was whether or not their machine could get off the ground. It’s easy to assume that neither Orville nor Wilbur were thinking about the infinite number of variables associated with airplanes today, many of which are unpredictable; or so it may seem. Today aerospace engineers utilize modeling and simulation to remove some of the danger the Wright brothers first experienced.“Aviation is a high cost and consequence industry,” said Eric Whiting, Division Director for Advanced Scientific Computing at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). “Anything you can do to...

Read More

IDAHO FALLS -- The U.S. Department of Energy - Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) has selected 19 new Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) projects, totaling approximately $690,000. These project awards went to 12 principal investigators from universities, five from national laboratories, one from industry, and one foreign university.    The NSUF competitively selected these projects from a pool of high-quality RTE proposals submitted during the solicitation period. Each proposal was evaluated based on a variety of factors including technical approach, mission relevance, and scientific-technical merit. The NSUF, managed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), provides unparalleled opportunities for nuclear energy researchers. Through the RTE solicitation, a researcher can...

Read More

The opportunities for student-led research are nearly endless

A vital resource in the United States’ critical energy infrastructure, nuclear power requires perpetual research in order to advance. While other user facilities reside across the globe, very few provide the resources or capabilities of the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF).As the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s only user facility, NSUF has championed hundreds of researchers from across the country and world in the pursuit of nuclear energy innovation to benefit our nation. Researchers are provided access to world-leading nuclear facilities, such as the Irradiated Materials Characterization Laboratory (IMCL) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) or the High...

Read More

Judge joined NSUF in September leaving Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. With a background in materials science, Judge will also act as a technical lead, assisting experiment managers with NSUF projects.

Materials scientist Colin Judge may have just recently joined Idaho National Laboratory, but his knowledge of the lab goes back 10 years. He estimates that off and on he spent three months of his career at INL before taking his current assignment in September.Judge came from Canadian Nuclear Laboratories in Chalk River, Ontario, where he was a research scientist in the Materials Science branch. His association with INL goes back to 2009, when he sought to examine CANDU reactor fuels and materials using focused ion beam (FIB) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipment at INL’s Materials & Fuels Complex (MFC).With...

Read More

The Users Organization Executive Committee will work to advance NSUF user concerns and priorities.

From Users Organization Chair, Peter Hosemann:Thank you to all who voted in the Users Organization Executive Committee election. I’m excited to welcome our newest members. Their terms will begin January 2020. Secretary/Chair Elect: Gabriel Meric de BellefonGabriel has been an active user of NSUF since 2017 working on three Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) projects at four different NSUF facilities. Gabriel currently works at Kairos Power leading the irradiation testing of structural materials of the fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor. NSUF PROFILE  »LINKEDIN PROFILE  »  Committee Member: Daniel LaBrierDaniel is not new to the Users Organization Executive Committee; he previously served as a student committee...

Read More

Once research is done, there is still an opportunity to communicate the impacts of your research to a broader audience.

Scientific communication is all about the message, that is, one that resonates with people and explains the impact that research will have on their lives. For Dan Ogden, it’s all about framing the appropriate message for the given audience. For Simon Pimblott, it’s all about explaining science to the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) foremost stakeholder — the public. For Jeff Benson, it’s all about the cool factor.These varying concepts of what scientific communication is all about represent the gamut of approaches that researchers often consider. But they also come from a common source: they all touch on the reality...

Read More

The University of Michigan's two NSUF partner facilities offers NSUF users access to extensive capabilities to study the effects of radiation as well as conduct high temperature mechanical property, corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking experiments on neutron irradiated materials in an aqueous environment to characterize the fracture surfaces after failure.

Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory The Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan has developed extensive capabilities in the use of accelerators directed towards the study of radiation effects by emulating neutron damage in nuclear reactor materials.  The laboratory also provides a wide range of capabilities for both surface modification and analysis.   Facilities include: A 3 MV Pelletron Tandem accelerator that can provide ion energies up to 6 MeV for single charged ions and to higher energies that depend on the ion charge state. Ion sources include a Torvis high current proton source, an...

Read More

The goal of the Users Group is to provide a formal and clear channel from the NSUF users to the NSUF program office as well as advocate for the experimental activities at NSUF, and the Executive Committee helps facilitate this.

Thank you to those who submitted their nominations for the Users Group Executive Committee. We received excellent nominations for the User organization board and encourage all NSUF users to vote. Our election is now open. Please submit your votes by 10/31. Thank you for your commitment to NSUF! To vote, please go to www.surveymonkey.com/r/C5PRW3D.If you have questions about the Users Group, please contact chair Peter Hosemann....

Read More

The TEM group leader for INL, He manages the two TEMs in INL's Irradiated Materials and Characterization Laboratory, and it continually making sure that his group's expertise is cutting edge, but also that users have access to that expertise via NSUF.

As a Nuclear Science User Facilities instrument scientist, Lingfeng He works with more than 20 NSUF users each year on the microstructural characterization of irradiated nuclear fuels and materials at the Irradiated Materials and Characterization Laboratory at Idaho National Laboratory. This work ultimately helps discover and create more efficient and cost-effective improvements for the next generation nuclear reactors. He assists users, often students, develop NSUF proposals ranging from studying irradiated structural materials to nuclear fuels and nuclear waste associated materials. Once awarded, He works with the users on experimental characterization at IMCL. Most recently, He helped prepare nine NSUF proposals with eight accepted. “I like to work with the...

Read More

While both are chief scientists for NSUF, Brenden Heidrich and Simon Pimblott took different paths to get here.

The two chief scientists for the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program both chose to pursue nuclear research early in their careers, but they did so in different ways. Brenden Heidrich, NSUF’s chief irradiation scientist, has always been interested in technology. Growing up, he was into cars and stereos. After joining the navy, Heidrich operated naval nuclear reactors for six years before going to college, working on the USS Enterprise for four years, saying his time in the Navy was a “strong impetus to get into nuclear.” Meanwhile, Simon Pimblott, NSUF’s chief post-irradiation scientist, forecasted his future at a...

Read More

NSUF has two main funding opportunities, Rapid Turnaround Experiments (RTEs) and work scopes in the Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research program.

First, it started with the Advanced Test Reactor in 2007. Then came the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reactor in 2008. Then it expanded to include additional Idaho National Laboratory facilities in 2009. Now the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program boasts 50 cutting-edge facilities (and growing!) across 20 institutions. Want to reap the benefits of this no-cost user program?To be accepted for a project award, the NSUF Program Office urges prospective users to do their homework before applying — whether that’s familiarizing yourself with the websites for NSUF or Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) or even getting in...

Read More

Sridharan's research team put the NSUF's first material samples into the ATR, launching a new era of research into the behaviors of fuels and materials in a nuclear reactor environment.

Professor Kumar Sridharan and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison helped kickstart the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF), formerly known as the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) National Scientific User Facility in 2007. The team put the organization’s first material samples into the ATR, launching a new era of research into the behaviors of fuels and materials in a nuclear reactor environment. His research partners included university colleagues Lizhen Tan (now at Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Yong Yang (now at the University of Florida, Gainesville), and Heather MacLean Chichester of Idaho National Laboratory, where the Advanced Test Reactor is located. A decade...

Read More

The goal of the Users Group is to provide a formal and clear channel from the NSUF users to the NSUF program office as well as advocate for the experimental activities at NSUF, and the Executive Committee helps facilitate this.

The NSUF Users Group Executive Committee has several open seats, including one secretary/chair elect, two committee member positions, and two student members (graduate students only). To fill these positions, the Users Group is currently accepting nominations and will hold an election in October. Nominations are open to all NSUF users, and users can nominate themselves for multiple positions. Voting will take place from October 1-31 and will be announced via this newsletter and on the NSUF website.The goal of the Users Group is to provide a formal and clear channel from the NSUF users to the NSUF program office as well as advocate for the experimental activities at...

Read More

The RTE award process offers an avenue for researchers to perform irradiation effects studies of limited scope on nuclear fuels and materials of interest utilizing NSUF facilities.

The first cycle of the Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) award process is expected to open on 10/1 and close on 10/31. RTEs offer an avenue for researchers to perform irradiation effects studies of limited scope on nuclear fuels and materials of interest utilizing NSUF facilities. Completion of RTE projects is expected within 9 months of award. Prospective researchers are strongly encouraged to request samples from the NSUF Nuclear Fuels and Materials Library. RTE proposals are solicited and awarded three times per year. They are reviewed and evaluated for technical merit, relevancy, and feasibility. The number of awards is dependent on the availability of funding. Further explanation of the...

Read More

This infrastructure program, a part of the Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research (CINR) program was established to continue to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in nuclear R&D and ensure that American universities have the best equipment and tools available to educate the next generation of industry leaders.

The Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) has released the FY 2020 Scientific Infrastructure Support for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0002129). The infrastructure support program will be administered by the Nuclear Science User Facilities program office. This FOA supports research reactor upgrades and general scientific infrastructure for universities only.Application Due Date: November 13, 2019 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.VIEW FOA »LEARN MORE ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM »SUBMIT AN APPLICATION »...

Read More

NSUF has eight work scopes open for proposals ranging from researching in-reactor instrumentation to high performance computing.

The Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) has released the FY 2020 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research (DE-FOA-0002128). Official copies of the documents are available at grants.gov. Applications are to be submitted to neup.gov.The Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) has eight work scopes in the FOA:FC-2.5: NSUF Separate Effects Testing in TREAT using Standard Test CapsulesNSUF 1.1: Testing of Advanced Materials for Sensors and Advanced Sensors for Nuclear ApplicationsNSUF 1.2: Irradiation Testing of Materials Produced by Innovative Manufacturing TechniquesNSUF 1.3: Nuclear Materials Discovery and Qualification InitiativeNSUF 2.1: Core and Structural MaterialsNSUF 2.2: Nuclear Fuel Behavior...

Read More