College of Engineering, Design & Computing Events

NRC

The program provides funding to support research and development (R&D) for nuclear science, engineering, technology, and related disciplines to develop a workforce capable of supporting the design, construction, operation, and regulation of nuclear facilities and the safe handling of nuclear materials. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: 

• Application of wireless communications, drones, robotics, and autonomous control in operations and maintenance activities; 
• Digital engineering/analytics, advanced sensors, and digital instrumentation/controls at nuclear facilities; 
• Evaluation of technical gaps and major uncertainties in assessing risk for operating, new and advanced reactors (e.g., modeling of complex dependencies, advanced calculation techniques, multi-unit and multi-moule risk, application of risk techniques to radiological consequence analysis, development of improved risk metrics); 
• Human and organizational factors and human reliability analysis for advanced nuclear applications, (e.g., improved models for dependency, consideration of organizational factors, dynamic methods, and risk analysis). 
• Characterization of fire hazards in new reactor designs (e.g., sodium) and post-fire safe shutdown capability; 
• Characterization of natural hazards including but not limited to flooding, high winds, hurricanes, wildfires, climate change; 
• Analysis models and methods for fuel and cladding performance; 
• Advanced technology approaches (e.g., data and text analytics, data visualization techniques, and artificial intelligence) and applications (e.g., data mining, autonomous control) in nuclear power-related applications; 
• Evaluation of the radiological releases and offsite consequences for fusion reactor accidents; 
• Application of innovative and advanced technologies for decommissioning and remediation of radiologically contaminated sites; 
• Evaluation of the technical gaps and uncertainties in licensing new veterinary and medical uses of byproduct materials; 
• Analytical approaches that combine probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) risk quantification methods with reactor systems sensitivity or uncertainty analysis methods to quantify the risk significance of safety analysis errors or uncertainties; 
• Performance-based technology-neutral safety assurance; 
• Evaluation of technical gaps and major uncertainties in assessing risk for decommissioning and waste management; and 
• Comparative analysis, consistencies, and harmonization in application of dosimetry and dose coefficients by the NRC and national and international regulatory agencies.