Thread by @nuclearkatie

🚨🚨Time for another @ANS_org webinar hosted by @ans_ymg🚨🚨

Let's learn about @PNNLab for the fifth "Spotlight on the National Labs" webinar!! You can register to attend here (starts at 13:00 EDT) or follow my thread below for the tl;dr 🧵👇us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

We're hearing from EIGHT different @PNNLab employees, including lab director Steven Ashby! Ever wondered what kind of nuclear science and engineering work is going on at Pacific Northwest National Lab? Recording will be available to those who register us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

PNNL is located in Richland, WA and is one of several laboratories that traces its roots back to the Manhattan Project. The lab has about 4700 staff, with about a quarter of the budget each going to Energy & Environment, National Security, and Science

The science mission conducted by @sciencePNNL includes earth, biological, chemical, and material sciences as well as advanced computing and particle physics

National security is a huge mission at @PNNLab, says manager of @NNSANews programs Daniel Stephens.

In addition to DOE NNSA, @securityPNNL supports the U.S. Departments of State, Homeland Security, Defense, and the Intelligence Community

A key focus of @securityPNNL's research mission is identifying and detecting signatures of nuclear diversion, including nuclear forensics that could trace plutonium back to its source.

PNNL Energy & Environment research associate lab director Jud Virden notes that their directorate has significant numbers of staff in their offices in Seattle, Portland, and a marine research center in Sequim beyond the main Richland office

Using machine learning to optimize the grid, creating better energy storage, and pushing the envelope of carbon capture are just a few things that @energyPNNL does.

Jud Virden notes that @PNNLab is growing, with 236 staff hired just in the last year!

The PNNL research mission spans the nuclear fuel cycle, including recovery of uranium from seawater and reprocessing nuclear fuel, says Mark Nutt, manager of the Nuclear Energy Sector of @energyPNNL

You need to be broad and interdisciplinary to solve the nuclear energy challenges of the future, and @energyPNNL works on everything from multi-phase fluids to remediation science, risk-informed decision science, radiation dosimetry, and more (enjoy these vintage @PNNLab images)

Amanda Lines is telling us about process sensing & separations in the @energyPNNL Nuclear Sciences Division! A woman after my own heart, she highlights how essential it is to have fuel production, recycling, and waste processing to support nuclear energy systems of the future

Shoutout to interns and early career researchers: @PNNLab recognizes that the future of nuclear energy is not just the technology, but the people that will bring it to life. I'm looking at PNNL for a future internship, all my fellow students should too!
pnnl.gov/careers

Materials scientist Steven Spurgeon describes how @energyPNNL is at the forefront of radiological microscopy, working towards the next generation of materials characterization and analysis
energyenvironment.pnnl.gov/highlights/hig…

Switching gears, Paul Johns of @securityPNNL tells us about how PNNL takes new radiation detection technologies out to the field to support our national security. "There is no perfect sensor that is practical for all missions!" means there's job security here...

.@securityPNNL works across the radiation detection space. Personal detectors, handheld identification devices, backpack detectors, mobile systems, all the way up to radiation portal monitors. Both hardware and software are critical!

Hellen Jiang of @energyPNNL works on solid phase processing, which is a metal synthesis/fabrication process without melting the constitutive materials. This work has positive indications of superior mechanical strength, reduced susceptibility to pitting, & ways to repair cracking

Q: U ore prices have gone up. When will we see commercial seawater extraction of uranium?
A: Not short term, but as we look towards a future with potentially many more nuclear reactors, it could become viable or desirable. I also wonder how it could reduce impacts of mining

Amanda Lines says @PNNLab is a place of interdisciplinary teams tacking hard problems. Everyone's got their own lanes, but you need to bring together many different types of experts to solve the challenges facing our world in energy, security, and more

Q: how should universities begin collaborating with PNNL? Your work looks awesome and I want in!
A: contact the @PNNLab university outreach/research program and they'll guide you. You can visit the lab, begin short or long term collaborations, and more!
pnnl.gov/people/researc…