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MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
EECS Event |
Monday, September 24, 2001
4:00 PM (refreshments 3:45)
Edgerton Hall, Room 34-101
EECS Colloquium
Abstract
With energy again an issue of domestic and international importance, the Nuclear Engineering Department at MIT has been quietly working on a technology that it hopes will meet the challenge of providing a clean, safe and reliable source of electricity. What started in January 1998 as a Independent Activities Period (IAP) project has blossomed into a full design effort whose goal is a nuclear plant that can compete with natural gas, be meltdown proof, and have a waste form that can be disposed of without reprocessing.
The technology of choice was a high temperature helium cooled, gas turbine powered, modular pebble bed reactor originally developed in Germany in the late 70's and 80's. The MIT design team is taking a fresh look at all aspects of the technology, from factory manufacture and site assembly to advanced fuel designs, safety analyses, modularity features that allow the entire plant to be shipped by truck and advanced instrumentation and control systems. This technology was mentioned in the Bush national energy plan as an example of the type of fresh thinking needed for the future.
The colloquium will describe the technology and identify opportunities for other departments to contribute to the design of this plant, which might actually be built as a consortium product in collaboration with other universities, national laboratories and industry. (Web Site Reference: http://web.mit.edu/pebble-bed/)
Dr. Kadak received the BS (1972) in Mechanical Engineering from Union College, the MS (1970) and the Ph. D. (1970) in Nuclear Engineering from MIT and an MBA (1983) from Northeastern University. His current research is focused on the development of the pebble bed reactor in the areas of design, safety, proliferation, fuel performance, waste disposal concerns and economics.
He is also President of Kadak Associates, a specialty consulting firm he established after 18 years of experience at Yankee Atomic Electric Company, where he had become President and Chief Executive Officer. He is past president of the American Nuclear Society and serves on its Board of Directors.