[ahr-der]

1. great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion:
2. Advanced Reactor Design & Optimization Research.


ARDOR Lab’s research endeavors are centered on the specialized field of Nuclear Power Design and Safety Analysis, with a keen emphasis on enhancing the scientific comprehension of advanced nuclear reactor (AR) technologies. The lab’s commitment to the innovation and implementation of AR systems, in conjunction with the current nuclear infrastructure, aims to reinforce the role of nuclear power as a sustainable, zero-emission energy solution. This is crucial for securing a prominent place for nuclear energy in the diverse energy mix of a carbon-neutral society.

Our team is focused on the development, implementation, and application of state-of-the-art modeling and simulation (M&S) capabilities in a multi-scale and multiphysics context to accelerate nuclear innovation and deployment of nuclear reactor systems. These tools are crafted to strike a strategic balance between precision and computational efficiency, catering to the diverse requirements of various stages in technology development. They are well verified and validated through rigorously developed numerical and experimental benchmarks with sufficient sensitivity and uncertainty (S/U) analysis. To maximize the benefit of ARs for resource utilization and waste reduction, the complete nuclear fuel cycle is being investigated in accordance with the feature of each AR design. Moreover, we effectively integrated in R&D activities cutting-edge data analytics such as data-driven approach and machine learning (ML) techniques to construct dynamic numerical models capable of processing and learning from vast data sets.

Join ARDOR Lab

We are looking for highly motivated graduate students who are interested in the research areas mentioned above to join our team and make a real impact on nuclear energy. Please contact the lab director:

Jason Hou, PhD (jason.hou@ncsu.edu)

Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering