Graduate student Cole Dunbar was invited to attend the Nuclear Innovator Cultivation Camp 2024 hosted by the Tokyo Institute of Technology under the auspices of the Nuclear Innovator Cultivation Program (NICP) for 10 days in July/August 2024. During the visit, Cole was able to expand his expertise in advanced reactor history and current development through interactions with students from Tokyo Tech and select U.S. universities. He also had the opportunity to tour the High-Temperature Test Reactor (HTTR) facility and the site of the Fukushima-Daiichi accident in 2011 to learn about the ongoing decommissioning efforts.
Cole also successfully defended his research for a Master’s degree on the topic entitled “Thermomechanical Performance of Cr-Coated Zirconium-alloy during Loss of Coolant Accident” in early Summer. His thesis has led to the publication in the journal, Annals of Nuclear Energy: “Fuel Performance Analysis of Cr-coated Zircaloy-4 Cladding during a Prototypical LOCA Event Using BISON”, C. Dunbar, W. Jung, R. Armstrong, K. Sridharan, M. Corradini, and H. Yeom, Annals of Nuclear Energy, 200, 110411, 2024. Cole will pursue his interest in thermal hydraulics by continuing to do his PhD at UW under the supervision of Prof. Juliana Duarte.
Congratulations Cole!