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Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
Dr. E. Linn Draper Jr. joined the American Nuclear Society in 1970. He was elected the 31st president of the Society in 1985. He has been involved since his initial joining with the Education, Training & Workforce Development and Fuel Cycle & Waste Management Divisions.
He began his career in the nuclear field at the University of Texas at Austin where he was director of the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory and the Nuclear Engineering program. He worked there for 10 years. He left them to join Gulf States, where he held a variety of technical and administrative positions including chairman, president and CEO. After 13 years of service, he left to join American Electric Power (AEP) Company, where he served 12 years also as their president, chairman and CEO.
Dr. Draper has been a member of the Board of Directors of eleven New York Stock Exchange listed companies including current service at Alliance Data Systems and NorthWestern Energy, where he is non-executive Chairman of the Board.
Draper is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas, where he served as the president. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas.
Draper is the author of a number of technical publications and the editor of two books.
During his professional career, he served in executive positions for the following: Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), Nuclear Utility Management and Resources Council (NUMARC), the Association of Electric Companies of Texas (AECT), the National Coal Council (NCC), the Ohio Business Round table (OBRT), and the Simon Kenton Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
He is a member of the Cornell University Council, the University of Texas Engineering Advisory Board, and the University of Texas Energy Institute. He served two terms as a member of the Board of Governors for the Argonne National Laboratory. He was a member of the Board of Governors for the Nature Conservancy and Resources for the Future.
He holds two Bachelor’s degrees from Rice University (1964) and a Doctorate from Cornell University (1970).
Dr. Draper is an Eagle Scout and a Distinguished Eagle Scout, an award presented to Eagle Scouts who after 25 years have distinguished themselves in their life work and have shared their talents with their communities on a voluntary basis.
Read Nuclear News from July 2007 for more on Don.
Last modified October 19, 2018, 2:13pm CDT
