Nuclear Science and Engineering

Etienne Demarly’s efforts in generating physically realistic computer simulations may soon enable current generation reactors to operate more efficiently.

Etienne Demarly: Mastering fluid flow and bubble boil

Through meticulous computations, nuclear science and engineering student Etienne Demarly simulates conditions inside a nuclear reactor.

July 9, 2018

MIT postdoc Cristina Rea records data about disruptions in fusion plasmas from the DIII-D control room.

Taming fusion with machine learning

Postdoc Cristina Rea's detour into banking provides a new route back to plasma research.

July 2, 2018

From left, graduate student Anton Cottrill, Professor Jacopo Buongiorno and Professor Michael Strano try out their neoprene wetsuits at a pool at MIT’s athletic center. Cottrill is holding the pressure tank used to treat the wetsuits with xenon or krypton.

“Artificial blubber” protects divers in frigid water

MIT engineers develop a way to triple the survival time for swimmers in wetsuits.

June 19, 2018

Ashok Ajoy PhD ’16, poses with a prototype hyperpolarizer device.

The quantum choreographer

Using diamond dust and laser light to control atomic spin, Ashok Ajoy PhD ’16 pursues alternatives to costly conventional imaging technologies.

June 11, 2018

Covert nuclear-weapon programs, whether in Iran, North Korea, or elsewhere in the world, are a major unsolved problem, says Scott Kemp, an associate professor of nuclear science and engineering at MIT. He recently explained the technical challenges involved in the hunt for clandestine nuclear sites. And he floated a possible solution.

Explained: Detecting the threat of nuclear weapons

Professor of nuclear science and engineering Scott Kemp describes the science behind the search for clandestine nuclear sites.

June 8, 2018

Tom Fredian is being recognized for his “outstanding leading role in the development and evolution of data systems in nuclear fusion.”

Tom Fredian: Streamlining fusion data

MIT systems analyst receives award for his essential fusion data storage and retrieval system.

June 1, 2018

Left to right: Seed Fund awardees Ahmed Ghoniem, Betar Gallant, Karthish Manthiram, and Bilge Yildiz.

MIT Energy Initiative awards nine Seed Fund grants for early-stage energy research

Awardees will use grants to advance research in areas including energy storage, renewables expansion modeling, and the chemistry of electrocatalysts.

June 1, 2018

Guanyu Su, MIT graduate student in nuclear science and engineering, is examining multi-scale physics in annular flow heat transfer using advanced diagnostics.

Turning up the heat

Fine-tuning thermal hydraulics in reactors, doctoral student Guanyu Su hopes to advance more powerful nuclear energy technology.

May 17, 2018

Outside the cell of MIT's Alcator C-Mod tokamak Professor Joe Paradiso listens to the sound of the fusion experiment's data, processed by his unique modular synthesizer.

Spinning data into sound

An interdepartmental collaboration brings out the music of nuclear fusion.

May 9, 2018

MIT researchers have designed MRI sensors that form clusters in the presence of calcium, allowing them to monitor neuron activity in the living brain.

Calcium-based MRI sensor enables more sensitive brain imaging

System detects direct signals of neural activity; could reveal patterns underlying behavior.

April 30, 2018

Honorees Ahmed Ghoniem (left) and Wesley Harris enjoy the Committed to Caring celebration on April 11.

Celebrating great mentorship for graduate students

MIT’s Committed to Caring Award selects third slate of dedicated professors.

April 24, 2018

Assistant professor of nuclear science and engineering Mingda Li relishes the freedom of his new academic life, and the growing MIT network that sustains his research passions.

Deriving a theory of defects

Mingda Li seeks to harness atomic irregularities in materials for improved energy applications.

April 19, 2018

At top, a diagram shows the configuration that could be used to verify that a nuclear warhead is real. At left, the key component of a nuclear weapon, called the pit, which consists of a hollow sphere of plutonium, is lined up with a specially made second component, called the reciprocal, which has the opposite characteristics. When the two are observed using a beam of neutrons, the resulting imag...

For nuclear weapons reduction, a way to verify without revealing

New isotope-detection method could prove compliance but avoid divulging secrets.

April 19, 2018

Researchers have found that a solid oxide protective coating for metals can, when applied in sufficiently thin layers, deform as if it were a liquid, filling any cracks and gaps as they form.

Self-healing metal oxides could protect against corrosion

Researchers find an ultrathin layer of aluminum oxide, though solid, can flow like a liquid instead of cracking.

April 3, 2018

School of Engineering first quarter 2018 awards

Faculty members recognized for excellence via a diverse array of honors, grants, and prizes over the last quarter.