Discovery Lecture, workshop to highlight future opportunities for nuclear energy
October 6, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A two-day workshop at Purdue University this month will feature a Discovery Lecture by top U.S. Department of Energy official Sal Golub and a host of discussions and presentations on the future of nuclear power.
The Oct. 16-17 event, titled Future Opportunities in Nuclear Power, will consist of a lecture, a technical keynote inauguration lecture and research workshop. Organized by the Purdue Energy Center in Discovery Park, the workshop will highlight discussions and presentations on knowledge gaps, challenges and opportunities, and to identify and foster interdisciplinary collaboration.
Golub, associate deputy secretary for Nuclear Reactor Technologies at the DOE, will deliver a talk titled Nuclear Power: Past, Present and Future. The Discovery Lecture, which is free and open to the public, is at 7 p.m. Oct. 16 at Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse.
"Nuclear power has the potential to secure clean energy for the United States and the world," said event organizer Anter El-Azab, a nuclear engineering professor at Purdue. "Nuclear power, or fission power, provides carbon-free energy, but it poses challenges in terms of safety, security/proliferation, regulations and environmental impact.
“This Purdue workshop devoted to nuclear power and related research will attempt to put all those issues on the table to a lively discussion on where we can go from here."
The two-day event will include a brainstorming session geared toward creating partnerships between Purdue and external institutions and organizations as well as national research laboratories, industry and universities. A Nuclear Energy Research at Purdue showcase and poster session also is planned from 4-6:30 p.m. Oct. 16 in Stewart Center's Loeb Atrium.
"The workshop also will raise the level of public awareness of Purdue's and the state of Indiana's unique nuclear engineering program and its role in both training nuclear engineers and advancing the field of nuclear science and technology to secure future energy," El-Azab said.
While the workshop is free, registration is required by Oct. 13 by going to https://purdue.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3QnsbmD7XAAHi17&Q_JFE=0.
Through a $1 million gift to Discovery Park from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, Purdue launched the Discovery Lecture Series in 2006 to bring prominent speakers to campus.
Currently Golub manages a portfolio of nuclear reactor technologies including light water, gas and liquid metal coolants, advanced reactor concepts, small modular reactor deployment and space and defense power systems.
Prior to his current assignment, Golub led the reactor development component of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership as the director of Fast Reactor Development. He also has served as the Office of Nuclear Energy's Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs.
Phillip Finck, chief scientist at the Idaho National Laboratory, will give the event's technical keynote inauguration talk. In it, he will focus on the challenges and opportunities involved in researching advanced nuclear energy systems in the 21st century.
Finck is noted for his technical leadership in reactor design and analysis, code development and validation, nuclear data and advanced fuel cycles. He was recently elected as chairman of the International Nuclear Energy Academy.
Within the workshop are five panel sessions that include Advances in Nuclear Fuel and Materials; Advances in Reactor Concepts and the Next Generation of Reactors; Advances in Radiation Detection and Monitoring; Industry and Perspective: Research/Technical and Policy Challenges in Nuclear Power; and Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations.
Pankaj Sharma, event co-organizer and managing director of the Energy Center, said industry perspectives also will be discussed by representatives from the Bechtel Corp., Duke Energy Corp. and Westinghouse Electric Co.
"This workshop and Discovery Lecture provides Purdue a terrific opportunity to engage our internal and external partners who are focused on advancing nuclear energy as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels," Sharma said.
Joining the Lilly Endowment, the Purdue Energy and Discovery Park as sponsors of this event are the College of Engineering, School of Nuclear Engineering, the Krannert Energy Club, the Purdue chapter of American Nuclear Society and the Purdue Energy Forum.
Writers: Emily Sigg, 765-494-4719, esigg@purdue.edu
Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu
Sources: Anter El-Azab, 765-496-6864, aelazab@purdue.edu
Pankaj Sharma, 765-496-7452, sharma@purdue.edu
Photos: Golub: http://www.purdue.edu/apps/dpmanage/Resource/7c7605fc64de4309890e18e0cd0df7b4.jpg
