Hayden Bland (2^nd Place)
Graduate Program: Nuclear Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Alexander Bataller
Poster Number: 17

Among the next generation of nuclear reactors is the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), whose defining characteristic is the utilization of molten salts as a fuel solvent, a coolant, and as a thermal energy storage medium. Molten salt reactors (MSRs) have been studied since the 1950s and have experienced a resurgence of interest across both public and private sectors. Although molten salts for nuclear applications have been examined for many decades, their fundamental fluid properties remain in question. This issue is exacerbated by the vast number of salt species and compositions that are possible for future MSR designs. Overall, quantifying the fluid properties of molten salts is vital for neutronic, thermal hydraulic, and safety calculations of these future reactors. This work introduces a newly applied technique to the study of molten salts for measuring viscosity.

Arjun Earthperson
Graduate Program: Nuclear Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Mihai A. Diaconeasa
Poster Number: 48

Nuclear safety analysis relies on Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to estimate the likelihood of critical failure scenarios. Most PRA approaches hinge on enumerating minimal cut sets, a computationally daunting process that grows exponentially with model size. Analysts often resort to approximations—such as restricted logic gates, bounding techniques, or probability truncation—which can hamper accuracy and still demand considerable runtime. To address these challenges, we propose a data-parallel Monte Carlo framework that bypasses exhaustive enumeration by sampling global component states directly. This strategy naturally incorporates both success and failure events in a single pass, granting analysts more freedom to model complex dependencies.

Md Nazrul Islam¹, Shaikat Chandra Dey¹, Ming Liu,² and Sunkyu Park¹
Graduate Programs: Forest Biomaterials¹; Nuclear Engineering²
Advisor: Dr. Sunkyu Park
Poster Number: 84

Addressing climate challenges requires innovative solutions to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and shift toward sustainable energy systems. Electrical energy storage is critical to this transformation, facilitating a dependable and efficient integration of traditional and renewable energy sources. This research focuses on a scalable approach to the production of high-performance graphite by utilizing carbon-rich biomass residue as a renewable alternative to traditional anode materials for next-generation energy storage applications. The investigation addressed both in situ and ex situ observations of how iron catalysts changed amorphous biomass that was hard to organize into crystalline graphitic structures, making graphite-based electrodes work better in high-performance batteries.