Rensselaer’s NE program boasts two world-class nuclear facilities: The Gaerttner Linear Accelerator (LINAC) Facility and the NuScale ENERGY EXPLORATION CENTER. Over the years, these facilities have provided invaluable research and educational opportunities to faculty and students in the NE program.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
- Dynamic Light Scattering Instrument
- Gaerttner Linear Accelerator Facility
- Radiation Measurement and Dosimetry Group
- Small Angle X-Ray Scattering Instrument
- NuScale Energy Exploration Center at RPI
GAERTTNER LINEAR ACCELERATOR
Located at the east-side boundary of the Troy campus on the Tibbits Avenue, the Gaerttner Linear Accelerator (LINAC) Facility began its construction in 1958 with funding from the Atomic Energy Commission and the facility became operational in December 1961. As a major nuclear research and educational tool of the newly established nuclear program faculty at that time, the layout of the facility was designed to produce electrons, x-ray photons, and neutrons, thus serving a large number of research applications involving nuclear engineering, nuclear physics, radiation effects in electronics, nondestructive testing, radiation processing of materials, computed tomography, and other industrial processes.
NuScale ENERGY EXPLORATION CENTER
The NuScale Energy Exploration (E2) Center provides an innovative, hands-on learning environment where users can explore nuclear science and engineering principles by operating simulated nuclear power plant scenarios. Utilizing state-of-the-art computer modeling, the E2 Center replicates the NuScale small modular reactor (SMR) power plant control roomMore About the CenterMore About the Center