NSE - Nuclear Science & Engineering at MIT

NEWS

NSE Spotlights 2016

Rasheed Auguste

Rasheed Auguste: Advocating for change on campus and Capitol Hill

NSE senior Rasheed Auguste is fueled by passions for science, policy, and creating a more inclusive MIT. ... more

Caroline Colbert

Caroline Colbert: Paving a Path to Medicine

NSE senior Caroline Colbert had expected to pursue a career in nuclear power. But after working in a medical environment, she changed her plans. ... more

Brian Henderson

Brian Henderson: Experimenting with physics and policy

As a graduate student in MIT’s Laboratory of Nuclear Science (LNS) in the physics department, Brian Henderson applied his skills in physics to study sub-atomic particles, such as protons. He is now the first Stanton Fellow in Nuclear Science and Security. ... more

Benoit Forget

Benoit Forget: Unraveling complexities of nuclear reactors

By making detailed simulations of reactor cores, NSE’ Associate Professor Benoit Forget is helping to advance new designs. ... more

Silvia Espinosa

Silvia Espinosa: On the edge of discovery

A fourth-year nuclear science and engineering graduate student at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC), Espinosa is seeking to understand phenomena observed in plasmas that fuel magnetic fusion devices like the Center’s Alcator C-Mod tokamak.. ... more

Jayson Vavrek

Jayson Vavrek: Turning particle detectors into weapons detectors

Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) graduate student Jayson Vavrek got his start in high-energy particle physics, looking for the smallest forms of matter in the universe. Now at MIT, he uses the same tools and principles to verify nuclear weapons. ... more

R. Scott Kemp

R. Scott Kemp: A novel approach to a longstanding challenge in nuclear arms control

MIT researchers develop a “physical cryptography” for secure and accurate accounting of the world&rsqs nuclear arsenals. . ... more

Anne White

Anne White: A passion for plasma

Physicist Anne White, the Cecil and Ida Green Associate Professor in Nuclear Engineering, has a fascination for the complexities of turbulence, and how to reduce it in fusion reactors. ... more

Cody Dennett

Cody Dennett: Scrutinizing radiation’s impact

Nuclear Science and Engineering doctoral student Cody Dennett cannot measure firsthand the powerful pummeling taken by structural parts in the heart of working nuclear reactors. Instead, he has developed novel experimental methods to reveal in real-time, high resolution detail the destructive impact of radiation on reactor components. ... more

Nuno Loureiro

Nuno Loureiro: A Theorist Seeks the Elusive Fundamentals of Magnetic Reconnection

As it pursues its mission of developing and applying nuclear for the benefit of society, MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) has cultivated a tightly integrated range of capabilities, from basic research to advanced implementation. The appointment of Nuno Loureiro as Assistant Professor of NSE will provide an important boost to the theoretical side of how plasmas work – the fundamental building block of fusion energy. ... more

Carolyn Coyle

Carolyn Coyle: Engineering CRUD for better reactors

Nuclear Science and Engineering doctoral student Carolyn Coyle ’13 SM ’16 specializes in the corrosive particle build-up found on primary components of nuclear reactors, known by its apt acronym, CRUD (for Chalk River Unidentified Deposits). The substance is a common byproduct of reactor operation, yet its impacts on reactor function have not yet been carefully elucidated. Coyle’s research, part of a larger effort to improve reactor safety and efficiency, aims to bring CRUD out of the shadows. ... more

NSE faculty

The Virtuous Circle

“I wanted the money I give to go to one of the big problems that the country and the world have today, and I see sustainable energy as one of them,” says Hardwick, co-founder and president of Westford-based Digital Voice Systems, Inc. (DVSI). ... more

Amelia Trainer

Amelia Trainer: Structuring improved simulations for reactor physics

Trainer, a sophomore majoring in physics and nuclear science and engineering, calls “Scaffolding” “probably the most true and meaningful love poem I’ve read.” But its metaphorical take on a relationship might also resonate for Trainer around her work with the Computational Reactor Physics Group (CRPG), where Trainer is deeply committed to learning about strengthening structures in a nuclear realm. ... more