WSU is part of a new $12.5 million National Nuclear Security Administration Actinide Center of Excellence devoted to research in actinide and nuclear chemistry. Centered at the University of Notre Dame, it is tasked with research that is important for what’s known as Stockpile Stewardship — the certification that the nation’s nuclear weapons are secure and operational.
Research at the center will integrate both experimental and computational approaches to analyze radioactive materials, including the elements americium, neptunium, plutonium and uranium, taking advantage of specialized facilities developed at Notre Dame. Researchers will focus on three specific themes: the properties and structure of nanoscale radioactive materials; the thermochemistry, or heat energy, associated with these materials; and how nanoscale nuclear materials react in various chemical environments.
Sue Clark, a Regents professor of chemistry, and Neil Ivory in chemical engineering will be part of a center team studying how nanoscale nuclear materials react in various chemical environments. Clark is serving as a lead for this research theme, and is also a member of the executive committee for the effort.
A major goal of the center is to support workforce development as it pertains to Stockpile Stewardship. Researchers will train graduate students, postdoctoral scientists and engineers to plan, set up, and conduct safe and efficient experiments with radioactive materials.
In addition to WSU, the center is partnering with Northwestern University, Oregon State University and the University of Minnesota. It will be funded over five years and support 16 doctoral students and eight postdoctoral researchers from across all the universities. The program will require graduate students to complete a course in actinide chemistry, taught jointly by the University of Notre Dame and WSU. They must also complete a three-month research internship at a DOE national laboratory, including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, where Clark has a joint appointment.