Research in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering is broadly based, including the traditional areas of fission and fusion as well as innovative new areas of plasma sciences and radiological science in support of fundamental nuclear engineering and related nuclear processes and their applications. These are a clear reflection of the creativity and diverse interests of our faculty and demonstrate responsiveness to societal needs and problems both within Illinois and the nation. Ten topical groups have been used to present current research activities in the Summary.

   Primary research directions within the department support the continued role of nuclear power in meeting society's electric power needs through currently installed light water fission reactors and through development of advanced light water reactors and fusion systems for future applications. Other directions being pursued are: broad applications of plasma to materials processing measurement sensing and other processes; development and utilization of radiation sources, including radiological and medical applications; advanced computational and analytical methods; thermal hydraulics and reactor safety; and nuclear materials.

   Important contributions have been made recently by several research groups, including: inertial electrostatic confinement for fusion applications and for neutron, x-ray and gamma radiation sources; energy cell performance for heat release and material transmutations; advanced computational techniques applied to stochastic radiation transport, smoke distribution in buildings, reactor physics and reactor safety, including Lie groups and group invariant difference schemes; perceptual displays and temporal pattern recognition applied to reactor control and operation; nuclear nonproliferation and safeguards; fusion blanket and diverter materials behavior and performance; plasma processing of electronic materials, plasma-induced sputtering and plasma measurements; nuclear radiation effects on materials and neutron scattering measurements; materials behavior under high-temperature corrosion and radiation bombardment environments, including nondestructive examination; combined neutron capture therapy and magnetic resonance imaging for cancer cell treatment; and thermal hydraulics including multi-phase flows, boiling in porous media, molten jet breakup, and turbulent structure modeling.

   In addition, departmental facilities include, for part of the year, the Illinois Advanced TRIGA, an above-ground, tank-type reactor with maximum steady-state power of 1.5 MW and peak pulsing power up to 6000 MW.

• APPLIED PLASMA PHYSICS
• COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICS
• CONTROLLED NUCLEAR FUSION
• HEALTH PHYSICS, RADIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL APPLICATIONS
• NUCLEAR MATERIALS, RADIATION EFFECTS, AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
• NUCLEAR POWER, OPERATIONS, AND CONTROL
• REACTOR PHYSICS AND REACTOR KINETICS
• SPACE PROPULSION AND POWER SYSTEMS
• THERMAL HYDRAULICS AND REACTOR SAFETY
• JOURNALS AND BOOKS
• PAPERS PRESENTED AT CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA
• THESES
• AWARDS AND HONORS