Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Materials Science for Nuclear Advancement Research Group
Led by Assel Aitkaliyeva · Materials Science and Engineering
What we study
The lab studies nuclear materials and fuels, focusing on their behavior under irradiation and how minor actinides affect fuel-cladding interactions. They use experiments, modeling, and advanced characterization techniques like TEM and atom probe tomography.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Computational
- Coding helps
- Projects
- 4
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Role of Heterogeneity in Manganese and Nickel Rich Precipitate Distribution on Hardening of Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels
DOE-funded project to study hardening in reactor pressure vessel steels caused by Mn-Ni rich precipitates using integrated modeling and experiments.
Understanding Constituent Redistribution, Thermal Transport, and Fission Gas Behavior in U-Zr Annular Fuel Without a Sodium Bond
DOE-funded project to investigate constituent redistribution in annular U-Zr fuel and its impact on fission gas behavior and thermal conductivity.
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Mechanisms of Irradiation-Induced Grain Subdivision
DOE BES-funded project to determine the mechanisms behind irradiation-induced grain subdivision in metals and ceramics.
Consortium for Nuclear Forensics
NNSA-funded project to advance analytical tools for nuclear forensics investigations by developing new characterization techniques.
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- TEM characterization of two variants of fuel-cladding chemical interaction in a HT-9 Clad U-10Zr fuel. Variant 2: FCCI without a Zr rind
2026 · Journal of Nuclear Materials
Uses TEM and APT to study fuel-cladding reactions in irradiated U-10Zr fuel.
- Characterization of hardening and embrittlement behavior as a function of microconstituents and grain orientation in reactor pressure vessel steel at extended life fluences
2026 · Journal of Nuclear Materials
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- Mechanisms of microstructural evolution and degradation in aluminum under high-damage irradiation
2026 · npj Materials Degradation
Uses simulations to study how radiation damages aluminum at high levels.
- Advancing nuclear forensics through nanoscale characterization: The role of transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography
2026 · Materials Today Communications
Reviews how TEM and APT help analyze nuclear materials at the nanoscale.
- Characterization of constituent redistribution in two annular U-10Zr fuels: Insights from EPMA and BISON
2026 · Journal of Nuclear Materials
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
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