Dr. Haghighat of Virginia Tech

This talk provides an overview of nuclear reactor technology, focusing on both current GW-level reactors and emerging designs. It highlights the key challenges for nuclear deployment, such as high capital costs, safety concerns, nonproliferation, waste management, and grid compatibility.
 
The presentation introduces advanced reactors, particularly Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) with outputs ranging from 20 MWe to 300 MWe per module, which aim to tackle these challenges and support the goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050. The talk covers three main reactor categories: Light Water Reactors (LWRs), molten salt reactors, and gas-cooled pebble bed reactors. Each design's advantages, disadvantages, fuel cycle, and potential for process heat and hydrogen generation are discussed. Additionally, Microreactors, generating 1-20 MWe, are introduced as ideal solutions for non-traditional energy markets, such as remote areas and space exploration. 
 
SMRs and Microreactors are positioned as viable, clean alternatives to coal and gas plants, offering flexible solutions for microgrids and baseload power. The speaker cites a Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) study indicating that achieving zero carbon emissions in the U.S. by 2050 requires 90 GWe of new nuclear power, equivalent to 300 SMRs of 300 MWe. The talk underscores the need for major investments in workforce training, public engagement, and Used Nuclear Fuel (UNF) recycling to meet this goal, including the use of Accelerator Driven Microreactors (ADMs) to generate process heat and reduce radiotoxicity of nuclear waste from about 300,000 years to 300 years. 

Biography:

Dr. Haghighat is the Robert E. Hord, Jr. Endowed Professor and Director of the Nuclear Engineering Program at Virginia Tech, housed within the Department of Mechanical Engineering. From 2001 to 2009, Dr. Haghighat was the Chair of the Nuclear & Radiological Engineering (NRE) Department at the University of Florida (UF), and from 2008 to 2010, he directed the UF Training Reactor (UFTR). Prior to his tenure at UF, he was a faculty member in the Nuclear Engineering Department at Pennsylvania State University for 15 years.

A fellow of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), Dr. Haghighat leads the Virginia Tech Theory Transport Group (VT3G). Over his 36-year career, he has pioneered new particle transport methodologies nd developed advanced computer codes for nuclear system modeling and simulation. His work has applications in nuclear reactors, security and safeguards systems, and medical devices. Dr. Haghighat has been instrumental in creating several advanced software tools, including PENTRAN, A3MCNP, TITAN, INSPCT-s, AIMS, TITAN-IR, and RAPID, the latter of which features a virtual reality system (VRS) web application.

Dr. Haghighat has authored over 280 publications and received multiple best paper awards. His contributions are recognized both nationally and internationally, through invited workshops, seminars, and presentations. He is the author of Monte Carlo Methods for Particle Transport (CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group), published in two editions, in December 2014 and July 2020.

Among his numerous honors, Dr. Haghighat received the 2023 Gerard C. Pomraning Memorial Award for his groundbreaking work in particle transport methods, the 2021 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service from Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, and the 2011 Radiation Protection Shielding Division’s Professional Excellence Award. In 2009, he was recognized by the U.S. Office of Global Threat Reduction for his leadership in the HEU to LEU fuel conversion for the UF Training Reactor.
An active leader within the ANS, Dr. Haghighat has served as Chair of both the Reactor Physics Division (2012-13) and the Mathematics and Computation Division (2005-06). He co-founded the Computational Medical Physics Working Group, chaired the committee on computational methods for pressure vessel fluence calculation, and led the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) as Chair (2006-07).

Dr. Haghighat is the founding Chairman (2015) and current Vice-Chair of the Board of the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium (VNEC), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting nuclear technology, research, and education in Virginia and beyond. He also serves as the Chief Scientific Officer for the Virginia Innovative Nuclear (VIN) Hub, a newly established nonprofit focused on workforce development, public engagement, and R&D in nuclear science and engineering.

Email: