The University of Wyoming will receive a $300,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to support the establishment of a nuclear chemistry core facility on campus.
The award is part of $6.3 million in funding from DOE to bolster infrastructure and upgrade research reactors at universities as part of its Nuclear Energy University Program.
Led by Caleb Hill, the UW project will launch a nuclear chemistry core facility that will enable the first practical nuclear chemistry research and educational programs in Wyoming. Hill is UW’s J.E. Warren Chair, Nielson Faculty Fellow, an associate professor of chemistry and co-director of the Nuclear Energy Research Center (NERC) in the School of Energy Resources (SER).
“This award is a critical first step in advancing the integration of nuclear-related education into the curriculum at UW,” Hill says. “While we have made significant progress in our efforts through NERC to build capacity and interest in nuclear energy at UW, the ultimate success of these initiatives will depend on advancing the laboratory infrastructure to enhance nuclear-focused research and teaching activities moving forward.”
The core facility will be used to enable wet chemistry and analytical work involving radioactive materials to be carried out by UW researchers and students. Work toward this goal will include the installation of necessary safety and analytical equipment, as well as the establishment of appropriate protocols for use of the core facility.
“Safety is obviously a critical concern when it comes to nuclear-focused research,” Hill says. “Standing up a new nuclear facility on UW’s campus from the ground up is a great opportunity because it will give us the opportunity to be strategic and to develop it going forward in a way that will best serve students, faculty and the state.”
Once fully established, the lab will facilitate nuclear-focused educational opportunities for UW students such as the development of a nuclear energy certificate program, which will prepare students to pursue nuclear-focused research at UW and provide them the background needed to meaningfully engage with nuclear topics.
The newly announced DOE award comes only a few months after NERC was named a recipient of a Faculty Development Advancement Award as part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research University Nuclear Leadership Program.
“Between these two awards, we are really driving the development of physical and human infrastructure needed to support nuclear-focused research at UW,” Hill says. “The announcement of TerraPower’s Natrium nuclear power plant has generated a great deal of excitement across the state for nuclear energy and, now, UW is one step closer to supporting that new industry.”
Another important feature of the award is that it will allow for the development of impactful research programs at UW, which could be competitive for future funding opportunities.
“When SER stands up a faculty-led Center of Excellence such as NERC, it is with the expectation that the initial support will lead to new, external sources of funding investment and growth,” says Scott Quillinan, SER senior director of research. “Under the leadership of Caleb and Tara Righetti, our other co-director of NERC, the center has completely flourished and is accomplishing everything it set out to do. We are delighted to see their efforts result in such levels of success.”