U.S. DOE Tours MSE Nuclear Research Labs

On November 20th, a group from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) visited the UMD Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) in an effort to learn more about the NEUP-supported research being conducted, and meet the team, led by MSE Professor Mohamad Al-Sheikhly.

The group visited multiple labs where the Extraction of Uranium from Seawater project is being conducted, including where the adsorbent membranes are synthesized. The extraction loop - assembled to measure the capacity of the adsorbent membranes, specifically synthesized by UMD to extract uranium from seawater - intrigued the group. They also visited the labs where the microstructure of these adsorbent membranes were performed, including FTIR, EPR, EDS-TEM and SEM, before meeting with MSE Department Chair, JC Zhao.

According to the DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy website, NEUP was created "in 2009 to consolidate its university support under one program. NEUP funds nuclear energy research and equipment upgrades at U.S. colleges and universities, and provides student educational support. [It] plays a key role in helping the Department of Energy accomplish its mission of leading the nation's investment in the development and exploration of advanced nuclear science and technology. The Department promotes nuclear energy as a resource capable of meeting the nation's energy, environmental and national security needs by resolving technical, cost, safety, security and proliferation resistance through research, development and demonstration."

Published December 4, 2019