Nuclear engineering is a research area focused on the analysis, design, optimization, and safety assessment of systems that exploit nuclear processes, primarily fission and, increasingly, fusion. It encompasses reactor physics, thermal-hydraulics, fuel cycle science, radiation transport, materials behavior under irradiation, and nuclear instrumentation and control. Research addresses core design, neutron economy, transmutation, waste minimization, and proliferation resistance, as well as severe-accident phenomenology and probabilistic risk assessment. Contemporary nuclear engineering also investigates advanced reactor concepts (e.g., fast reactors, high-temperature reactors, small modular reactors), fuel and cladding innovations, fusion plasma-facing components, and nuclear data evaluation to support both power generation and non-power applications such as medical isotope production and radiation technologies.
Could the seismic signal of an underground nuclear test explosion be "hidden" by the signal generated by a natural earthquake?
Earth Sciences
Apr 24, 2025
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163
Researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a neural network model based on self-attention mechanisms to rapidly predict radiation shielding designs for space ...
Space Exploration
Apr 22, 2025
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39
Around the U.S., about 90,000 tons of nuclear waste is stored at more than 100 sites in 39 states, in a range of different structures and containers.
Environment
Apr 14, 2025
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39
Nuclear fusion is a source of great hope for future energy security, with this field being explored in research reactors around the world. Accurately detecting their performance requires measurement systems that supply valid ...
Plasma Physics
Mar 31, 2025
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38
Recently, a leaflet was delivered to my home from Nuclear Waste Services, the company that is overseeing the final disposal of some of the most dangerous waste that exists. It reminded me that the small village where I live ...
Environment
Mar 25, 2025
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14
A research team, led by Professor Jimin Lee and Professor Eisung Yoon in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UNIST, has unveiled a deep learning–based approach that significantly accelerates the computation of a nonlinear ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 28, 2025
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219
Nuclear fusion could be an ideal solution to mankind's energy problem, guaranteeing a virtually limitless source of power without greenhouse gas emissions. But there are still huge technological challenges to overcome before ...
Plasma Physics
Nov 5, 2024
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148
Fusion energy has the potential to be an effective clean energy source, as its reactions generate incredibly large amounts of energy. Fusion reactors aim to reproduce on Earth what happens in the core of the sun, where very ...
Plasma Physics
Oct 21, 2024
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93
Nuclear fission reactors act as a key power source for many parts of the world and worldwide power capacity is expected to nearly double by 2050. One issue, however, is the difficulty of discerning whether a nuclear reactor ...
General Physics
Oct 1, 2024
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75
The 2011 accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant in Japan inspired extensive research and analysis that elevated nuclear energy into a standard bearer for safety. It also inspired a number of studies at the U.S. Department ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 5, 2024
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107
