Design a production method for radiopharmaceutical Actinium-225 used in cancer treatments.

This project aimed to design a thorium-based light water SMR to explore sustainable alternatives to traditional uranium fuel cycles. Motivated by thorium’s advantages in fuel availability, waste reduction, and proliferation resistance, the team used OpenMC and Scarabee to evaluate core configurations for reactivity, breeding performance, and thermal safety—advancing the potential of next-generation SMR designs

As the demand for fl exible, low-carbon energy solutions grows, this project explores the design of a fast-ramping sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) to support modern electrical grids challenged by variable renewable energy sources. The selected 2000 MWt reactor uses control rods for reactivity control, with europium oxide (Eu₂O₃) optimized as the absorber material. Simulations in OpenMC, paired with point kinetics analysis, confi rmed the reactor’s ability to ramp from 10% to 100% power at 10% per minute.

Modern nuclear plants sometimes operate at a loss due to a lack of a market for electricity at certain times of day. One possible method to remedy this is through the use of cogeneration where a nuclear plant would produce something other than electricity to be sold.  If nuclear cogeneration was to be implemented, then a nuclear plant would not be limited to only the electrical market.