Nuclear Engineering Division of Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne)

The Nuclear Engineering (NE) Division is one of the divisions within the Energy Sciences and Engineering Directorate (formerly the Applied Science and Technology directorate) of Argonne National Laboratory. Our mission is to advance the design and operation of nuclear energy systems and to apply our nuclear energy-related expertise to current and emerging programs of national and international significance.

The NE Division participates in key DOE Nuclear Energy programs such as the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, the Generation IV Initiative, and the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative. We also have major roles in national security and non-proliferation programs conducted by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and other agencies.

Division personnel additionally contribute to improving the operation of existing nuclear energy systems and to resolving issues related to their performance and safety. We have a key role in advancing major Laboratory initiatives in such diverse areas as transportation, hydrogen generation and computational science. Finally, we contribute engineering expertise to the design, operation and decommissioning of major facilities at Argonne and elsewhere.

Nuclear Engineering Activities

In the News

HIgh efficiency nuclear fuel too hot to handle Nuclear super-fuel gets too hot to handle
New high-efficiency nuclear fuel meant to burn longer and stronger may prove unstable in an emergency and hard to dispose of, according to NE's scientist Michael Billone and his team. They say that fuels with a burn-up above 45 GWd/tU cause previously unforeseen safety problems, and would break existing NRC safety rules unless changes are made to the way fuel is packed.
For more information and related articles visit:
:: Irradiation Performance Section

Mark Peters participates in panel on expanding the use of nuclear energy Argonne scientist participates in panel on expanding the use of nuclear energy
Argonne scientist Mark Peters (ESE) participated in a panel discussion on the possibility of expanding the use of nuclear energy hosted by the Heritage Foundation. Topics included the safety of geologic storage, how recycling spent nuclear fuel could affect Yucca Mountain’s long-term viability and the politics of nuclear power.
Peters laid out challenges with the waste management of nuclear materials, as well as different approaches to spent fuel management.
The entire panel discussion can be found at:
:: Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository (C-Span Video Library)

[News Archive]

Upcoming Events

Courses

October 6-8, 2008
Facility Decommissioning Training Course (Virginia Beach, VA, USA)
Online registration for this session NOT OPEN YET. Details still evolving. Please follow the link above for updates and details.

November 17-20, 2008
Facility Decommissioning Training Course (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
Online registration OPEN for this session. Please follow the link above for updates and details.

[Past Courses]

Meetings

No upcoming meetings scheduled at this time

[Past Meetings]

Conferences

No upcoming conferences scheduled at this time

[Past Conferences]

Argonne Open House 2006

NE @ the Open House

Argonne Open House 2006 Argonne opened its gates to the community on Oct. 7, 2006 to celebrate the Laboratory's 60th anniversary. Some of the information we presented is now available for download.

:: NE @ the Open House