Under the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP), 71 projects at colleges and universities nationwide will receive approximately $44 million over three years to advance new nuclear technologies in support of the nation’s energy goals.  By helping to develop the next generation of advanced nuclear technologies, NEUP will play a key role in addressing the global climate crisis and moving the nation toward greater use of nuclear energy. Rahnema and Deo Recognized
COE faculty members Farzad Rahnema and Chaitanya Deo both received research awards under the NEUP program. Rahnema is a professor and associate chair of the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering as well as chair of the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering/Medical Physics Program. He came to Tech in Fall 1992 following his service as a principal engineer at General Electric Nuclear Energy. Rahnema’s research project is “An Innovative and Advanced Coupled Neutron Transport and Thermal Hydraulic Method (Tool) for the Design, Analysis and Optimization of VHTR/NGNP Prismatic Reactors.” 
Chaitanya Deo came to Georgia Tech as an assistant professor of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering. Prior to coming to Tech, he was a postdoctoral research associate in the Materials Science and Technology Division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Deo will be working on two research projects for the NEUP – “Atomistic Calculations of the Effect of Minor Actinides on Thermodynamic and Kinetic Properties of UO2+x” and “Fundamental Understanding of Ambient and High Temperature Plasticity Phenomena in Structural Materials in Advanced Reactors.”
“As a zero-carbon energy source, nuclear power must be part of our energy mix as we work toward energy independence and meeting the challenge of global warming.  The next generation of nuclear power plants – with the highest standards of safety, efficiency and environmental protection – will require the latest advancements in nuclear science and technology,” according to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu,