CANYON, TX – Two students at the University of Utah have won awards in the 2017 Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Technology R&D.
Adam Olsen, a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering, has been awarded a Second Place prize in the Open Competition in the category of Material Protection, Control, and Accountancy. His award-winning research paper, “Quantifying Morphological Features of α-U3O8 with Image Analysis for Nuclear Forensics,” was published in the journal Analytical Chemistry in March 2017.
Adam Burak, a Ph.D. student in Metallurgical Engineering, has been awarded a prize in the Competition for Students at Universities with Less than $600 Million in 2015 R&D Expenditures. His award-winning research paper, “Measurement of Solubility of Metallic Lithium Dissolved in Molten LiCl-Li2O,” was published in the Journal of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society in October 2016.
In order to be successful and retain its leadership role in nuclear technologies, the United States must foster creativity and breakthrough achievements to develop tomorrow’s nuclear technologies. The Department of Energy has long recognized that university students are an important source of breakthrough solutions and a key component in meeting its long-term goals. The Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards program was developed for this purpose.
The Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards program is designed to: 1) award graduate and undergraduate students for innovative nuclear-technology-relevant research publications, 2) demonstrate the Department of Energy’s commitment to higher education in nuclear-technology-relevant disciplines, and 3) support communications among university students and Department of Energy representatives.
The program awarded 23 prizes in 2017 for student publications relevant to innovative nuclear technology. In addition to cash awards, award-winning students will have a variety of other opportunities.
For more information on the Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards program, visit http://www.nucleartechinnovations.org.
Kim Dougherty
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