Nanotechnology meets Nuclear: Small Solutions for Big Problems
Professor Colin Boxall, LRET Chair in Nuclear Engineering
2.00 pm
Nanotechnology and nanoscience deal with structures less than a tenth of a thousandth of a millimetre in size. As such they are concerned with the control of materials on the atomic and molecular scale. Very much 21st century developments with their roots in the late 20th, nanotechnology and nanoscience are now finding application in a diverse range of fields including energy (production, storage, efficiency), medicine, chemistry, information and communication technologies, food, textile and cosmetic production and in the design of new composite materials (stronger, lighter) for heavy industrial use.
In the broader area of energy, the UK nuclear industry is going through a period of significant change. As a result of a recent series of nuclear-related government white papers, the industry is simultaneously facing up to the twin challenges of new power station build and the safe decommissioning of existing nuclear facilities as they near the end of their operational lifespans. Nanoscience and nanotechnology can make key contributions in both of these areas. Spent nuclear fuel contains lots of small, bubble like pores and so may be considered a nanomaterial whose existence pre-dates the current fashionable status of all things nano. However, nanotechnology's potential contributions to nuclear extend beyond this, including areas such as decontamination and effluent treatment, on-line sensors and process monitoring, novel fuel and wasteforms and new fuel recycle technologies.
In this talk I will highlight some of the work we have been doing in these areas at Lancaster, as well as provide a few hints as to exciting developments yet to come.
Biography
Professor Colin Boxall BSc (Dunelm) DIC PhD (Lond.) (Chemistry, Imperial College) is the newly appointed Lloyd's Register Educational Trust Chair in Nuclear Engineering and Decommissioning within the Engineering Department at Lancaster University. Previously he worked at Imperial College London and the University of Central Lancashire where he held a personal chair and was University Director of Research.
He currently leads a research group of eight PhD students and two research fellows and has long established research interests in solar energy conversion, nanomaterials and nuclear chemistry. He has written more than 100 papers and industrial reports, including three substantial book chapters on environmentally friendly applications of nanoparticles. He sits on the NW Science Council Nuclear Sub-Committee.