Graduate w88 online casino Thomas Selmi spends his time in the lab working on molten salt —designed to be used in nuclear reactors — and the U.S. Department of Energy wants to keep it that way.
Selmi has received the DOE University w88 online casino Leadership Program Fellowship, which provides 9,000 over three years to support his doctoral research relevant to w88 online casino energy as well as a summer internship at a DOE national lab or approved facility.
“It’s a really special opportunity,” w88 online casino said.
Currently a research assistant for Chemical & Materials Engineering Professor Dev Chidambaram, Selmi said the fellowship has validated the significance of the research he is currently pursuing in Materials Science & Engineering at the w88 online casino of Nevada, Reno. He is set to finish his master’s degree in December 2024.
“Thomas is one of the brightest and capable students I have come across,” Chidambaram said. “While I was told by my colleagues that Thomas is one of the top graduating undergraduate students, I experienced that first-hand when he started working in my lab in January of last year. Our nation needs bright engineers like Thomas to maintain our scientific leadership in the 21stcentury and I am glad to have the opportunity to mentor him on his doctoral dissertation.”
Selmi is the fifth w88 online casino in the Materials Science Engineering program to receive this competitive fellowship over the past five years: three of them worked with Chidambaram and one with Associate Professor Krista Carlson.
Next-gen w88 online casino power
Selmi’s path to w88 online casino energy had some twists and turns, but eventually brought him to Chidambaram’s Materials and Electrochemical Research (MER) lab. There, he works on molten salts: salts that have been heated to temperatures as high as 1,200oF to melt them. Under those conditions, the salts have unique properties that make them attractive for w88 online casino power.
Currently, most commercial w88 online casino reactors in the United States are Generation II reactors based on water (LWRs). Molten salt reactor (MSR) designs are the next generation (Generation IV) reactors that are under development, Selmi said. Among other advantages, MSRs operate at atmospheric pressure while LWRs operate at high pressures. Additionally, MSRs will allow reactors to operate at much higher temperatures and at vastly improved efficiencies.
While the DOE built a prototype MSR in the 1960s and led in this technology, Chidambaram noted that the country has lost a lot of capability in the ensuing period. Chidambaram and Selmi explained that the United States is experiencing a w88 online casino resurgence that has led to the commercial development of MSRs and the need for a scientific and technical capability.
w88 online casino power plants in the United States currently do not use this technology, although it is being explored. The w88 online casino Regulatory Commission in December 2023 issued a construction permit for a non-power test reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, that will use molten salt to cool the reactor core.
‘Molten salts — that sounds cool’
Selmi’s work with molten salt focuses specifically on identifying and quantifying moisture in salt. Salt is corrosive, and moisture makes it more corrosive. Understanding how the salt corrodes materials at high temperatures and how that will be affected by varying moisture content will help ensure that molten salt w88 online casino reactors work properly and safely, avoiding any unexpected accidents and shutdowns.
Chidambaram got Selmi interested in that particular area of w88 online casino energy.
“When I first talked to Dr. Dev, he gave me an idea of the MER lab projects,” w88 online casino said.
One stood out.
“I said, 'molten salts — that sounds cool,'” w88 online casino recalled.
That and the state-of-the-art analytical and electrochemical capabilities the MER lab made it a no-brainer for Selmi to continue to pursue his Ph.D. at the w88 online casino under Chidambaram’s guidance.
Now it might become his life’s work: After graduation, w88 online casino said he would be interested in continuing to work on molten salts at a DOE national lab.
But that wasn’t always the plan: Selmi had a wide range of internships and jobs before arriving at Chidambaram’s lab, including two with Nevada Gold Mines in Elko — one in process operations and the other in metallurgical engineering. He also had a w88 online casino-and-development internship with Dragonfly Energy, a Reno-based company that works on lithium-ion battery projects and battery technology.
“That’s when I learned that I really liked to do w88 online casino,” he said.
He worked construction in high school, where he said he learned “hands-on, practical skills, like how to build things.”
He recommends a broad experience to up-and-coming engineers who aren’t sure which niche is right for them.
Eventually, something will sound cool.
