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New capability supports U.S. energy, security needs

Yogendra Gupta
Yogendra Gupta

The Dynamic Compression Sector, a first-of-its-kind-worldwide research capability, will help unravel the mysteries of material behavior at extreme conditions and short time scales.

The National Nuclear Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and Washington State University  will dedicate the DCS in a ceremony hosted by WSU this week at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source near Chicago.

The DCS will help address challenges related to the nation’s energy and national security needs, understand the structure of planetary interiors and make new, lightweight materials for industrial, aerospace and automotive applications.

“DCS supports a broad range of multidisciplinary research and will allow scientists to observe material behaviors and the underlying microscopic mechanisms using techniques that have not been possible before,” said Yogendra Gupta, director of the WSU Institute for Shock Physics.

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WSU News

 

Nuclear reactor on WSU campus generates electricity, curiosity

Ken Nash
Ken Nash

The nondescript building sits on the very edge of Washington State University’s campus in Pullman. An anonymous front door leads visitors through a metal detector and into a sparsely decorated reception area. Everyone must sign in. The first clue to what’s inside the building is the familiar Cougar logo emblazoned on top of a door-size international sign for radiation. And the lit “Reactor On” sign. This is the Dodgen Research Facility, home of WSU’s nuclear reactor and the university’s radiation center.

Dr. Ken Nash is a professor of chemistry who works on more efficiently managing nuclear waste. He said the campus reactor makes it possible for him to work with elements that are heavier than uranium.

“These are man-made elements that only exist because we know about nuclear science,” Nash said.

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Seattle Times

Spokesman Review

 

 

Researchers ‘watch’ crystal structure change in real time

Yogendra Gupta
Yogendra Gupta

Washington State University researchers have met the long-standing scientific challenge of watching a material change its crystal structure in real time.

Their discovery is a dramatic proof of concept for a new way of discerning the makeups of various materials, from impacted meteors to body armor to iron in the center of the Earth.

Until now, researchers have had to rely on computer simulations to follow the atomic-level changes of a structural transformation under pressure, said Yogendra Gupta, Regents professor and director of the WSU Institute of Shock Physics. The new method provides a way to actually measure the physical changes and to see if the simulations are valid.

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WSU News

New radiochemistry training offered to WSU grad students

Nathalie Wall
Nathalie Wall

A new radiochemistry trainee program at Washington State University will help address a critical shortage of scientists in the nuclear energy industry.

Supported by a $3 million U.S. Department of Energy grant, the program will enhance training at WSU and let graduate students work alongside radiochemistry experts at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the next five years.

“Researchers and staff trained in America’s nuclear era in the late 20th century are retiring in large numbers and the current supply of trainees will not able to keep up with demand,” said Nathalie Wall, associate professor of chemistry and director of the WSU radiochemistry traineeship. “This program will provide our students with a variety of research experiences and a pipeline of potential employees well-educated in radiochemistry.”

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WSU News

Multimillion dollar grant to support nuclear waste cleanup

Sue Clark
Sue Clark

Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers have received a four-year, multimillion dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study the chemical reactions that cause nuclear waste to change over time.

The grant establishes the IDREAM center, one of four newly minted DOE Energy Frontier Research Centers intended to play a major role in expediting the cleanup of Hanford and other sites contaminated by decades of nuclear weapons production. Sue Clark, a Batelle fellow at PNNL and a WSU regents professor of chemistry will serve as director of IDREAM (Interfacial Dynamics in Radioactive Environments and Materials).

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WSU News

PNNL News

Tri-City Herald