Nuclear Engineering Research Areas
Research Groups
Advanced radiation transport methods and codes
Hybrid particle transport methods their application to nuclear systems; multi-scale/multi-physics methodologies; computational methods in reactor physics and shielding; perturbation methods
Modeling and simulation of nuclear systems
High performance computing; virtual visualization; simulation of medical imaging techniques
Nuclear Materials
Novel nuclear materials design; thermoelectric materials; materials modeling and simulation; hard coatings; plasma-material interactions
Celin Hin, Assistant Professor
Nuclear nonproliferation, verification and policy
Design of nondestructive detection algorithms and tools; applications including spent fuel pool monitoring and cargo container inspection; science-based analysis and support of nuclear policy formation
Reactor physics, shielding, control and operation
Multigroup cross section generation; pressure vessel calculations; design of digital instrumentation and control
Mark Pierson, Associate Professor
Thermal hydraulics and reactor safety
Two-phase flow modeling, instrumentation and experimentation; two-phase flow computational fluid dynamics; advanced passive safety system design
Virginia Tech Transport Theory Group (VT3G)
VT3G is engaged in development of hybrid 3-D, multi-scale, parallel particle transport algorithms and codes, and their application to nuclear energy, nuclear security and non-proliferation and radiation therapy and diagnosis.
Visionarium
It focuses on adoption of supercomputing and visual analysis tools to advance science, engineering, and education. Ongoing collaboration between VT3G and Visionaium – Virtual Reality System
Multiphase flow and Thermal-hydraulics Laboratory (MFTL)
The laboratory performs experimental and computational studies on multiphase flow and nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics.
Nuclear Materials
Novel nuclear materials design, Thermoelectric materials, Materials modeling and simulation, Hard coatings, plasma-material interactions
Center for Neutrino Physics
The Center for Neutrino Physics at Virginia Tech is an organization of faculty and students committed to continuing the growth and advancing the stature of the existing, highly visible neutrino science program at Virginia Tech.
School of Public and International Affairs
The School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), one of four schools in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies (CAUS), is comprised of three dynamic academic programs: Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP), Government and International Affairs (GIA), and Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP).
Department of Science and Technology in Society
Science and Technology Studies (STS) is a growing field that draws on the full range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities to examine the ways that science and technology shape, and are shaped by, our society, politics, and culture.
External
Georgia Tech
The Nuclear & Radiological Engineering (NRE) and Medical Physics (MP) programs are an integral part of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Today, Georgia Tech’s Nuclear Engineering graduate program is ranked 5th in the nation, according to the US News & World Report.
Penn State
The Nuclear Engineering (NucE) program at Penn State is one of few universities in the U.S. with a working research reactor. U.S. News and World Report rank Penn State’s NucE graduate program 5th in the U.S. Penn State graduates approximately 12 percent of those receiving baccalaureate degrees in any one year, making it the largest nuclear engineering program in the U.S.
U.S. Naval Academy
The nuclear engineering program prepares its graduates to assume responsibilities in the U.S. Navy (USNA) and U.S. Marine Corps which involve the operation and maintenance of highly technical systems. In August 2015, USNA signed a Collaborative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA) with NSEL.