UNLV's strength in nuclear technologies research and education was on display at a recent U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national student competition. Four current and former students took top honors for their investigations into the nuclear fuel cycle.
The Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research competition recognizes the published research of college students. The competition is broken into eight categories, with cash prizes of up to $3,000 for winners. UNLV awardees include:
- Ariana Alaniz (engineering undergraduate): First place in Waste Forms category for the paper, "Structure Studies on Lanthanide Technetium Pyrochlores as Prospective Host Phases to Immobilize 99-Technetium and Fission Lanthanides from Effluents of Reprocessed Used Nuclear Fuels." The study was published in the Journal of Nuclear Materials in April.
- Edward Mausolf (radiochemistry Ph.D. student): Second place in Waste Forms for "Characterization of Electrodeposited Technetium on Gold Foil," which was published in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society in January.
- Erik Johnstone (radiochemistry Ph.D. student): Second place in Advanced Materials category for "Synthesis and Structure of Technetium Trichloride," which appeared in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in 2010.
- Gregory Schmidt (nuclear engineering M.S. graduate): First place prize in Used Fuel Disposition category for the paper, "Incorporating Actinide Sorption in Models of TRISO Repository Performance." The study was presented at the International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference in April.
In addition to cash awards, winning students will present their work during the American Nuclear Society Winter meeting, participate in an Innovators' Forum, and attend the DOE Office of Fuel Cycle Technologies annual meeting.
