A Pathway Program for Talent Preparation for Modeling and Manufacturing of Novel Materials and Structures for Fusion Energy

PI: Dr. Jianzhi (James) Li¹, Professor

Co-PIs: Amir Mostafaei³, Farid Ahmed¹, Benjamin Peters¹, Philip Park¹, Vlastimil Kunc², Tarek Ghaddar², Ke An², Trevor Aguirre²

1: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, 78504

2: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830

3: Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, 60616

This project aims to foster research collaboration between two higher education institutions and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and through this collaboration, to provide training opportunities and hands-on research experiences for students and postdoctoral researchers to form a nucleus of talented young scientists, engineers, and technicians to support the fusion energy science research and commercialization activities. The project facilitates joint research focusing on additive manufacturing and material science for extreme environments expected in fusion reactors, through simulations, design optimization, and experiments. The expected outcome from this project is the creation of domestic talent pool to support innovation opportunities in fusion energy science through the following training and research pathway programs: 1) Education Pathway Programs on Fusion Energy Materials and Manufacturing: The two partner universities and ORNL will develop new courses for the Certificate Program in Energy Material and Manufacturing at UTRGV and add a new track in Master of Science in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering at Illinois Tech, with a focus on Fusion Energy Materials and Manufacturing. The courses will encompass Modeling and Simulation, Introduction to Fusion Energy, Materials for Extreme Conditions, Material Property Characterization using Neutron Spallation, and Additive Manufacturing for Fusion Energy. About 20 graduate students will be engaged in our education program each year. Annual exposure events will be organized to inspire 600 school students. 2) Engage and Retain Underrepresented Groups through Hands-on Research: The project engages and retains a talent pool through real-world challenges and hands-on research experiences at the hosting universities. Through joint student supervision, participants will learn about additive manufacturing of novel materials, about utilizing existing simulation tools to analyze radiation behavior in materials, and about experimental facilities that analyze materials under sophisticated and extreme fusion-like conditions. 3) Hands-on Training and Summer Internship at National Lab: The project leverages visiting faculty programs and summer internship programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which provide exposure to cutting-edge research infrastructure and opportunities to work with DOE scientists. These experiences will provide participants with essential connections and networks to enable access and integration to continue support beyond the program, via DOE-sponsored internships and fellowships and postdoctoral programs, providing a pathway for career opportunities at DOE.

This research was selected for funding by the DOE Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences