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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
Copper melting behavior at extreme temperatures could inform fusion materials
Using SLAC’s electron camera, researchers recorded timestamps of solid copper atoms (orange) as they melted (yellow) after being blasted with laser heat. This graphic shows how copper atoms changed over a period of several femtoseconds (millionths of a billionth of a second), notated here as fractions of a picosecond. Instead of the predicted collapse, the researchers saw a gradual melting. (Image: Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has announced researchers have conducted experiments testing how copper melts under extreme conditions, such as those it might be exposed to in a fusion machine. The results, published in Nature Communications, found that a copper thin film was more resilient to melting than models had predicted, uncovering molecular dynamics that had been missing from calculations.
“These results greatly improve the simulations we use to predict which materials have the best shot at surviving the extreme conditions of future fusion reaction chambers,” said Mianzhen Mo, the SLAC staff scientist who led the research.
Award Recipient Photos
Honors and Awards Program
Dr. J. Wesley Hines
Julie G. Ezold
Deborah A. Hill
Sven Bader
Vladimir Sobes
Dr. Richard A. MeserveDr. John H. Hamre
Dr. Jeremy T. BusbyProf. Jin JiangDr. Stephen G. JohnsonMr. William D. Magwood, IVDr. Rajesh MaingiDr. James A. MormanDr. Robert W. Youngblood
University of New Mexico (Best Section)University of Idaho (Second Place)University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (Third Place)University of Wisconsin (Honorable Mention)
J. Wesley Hines
Piyush Sabharwall
Carl A. Willis
B. John Garrick
Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar
Oak Ridge/Knoxville (Best Membership)Eastern Washington (Best Meetings and Programs)Savannah River (Best Public Information and Education)Savannah River (Best Section Management)
Harold L. (Lee) Dodds, Jr.
Callaway Energy CenterAmeren Missouri
Prof. Poong Hyun SeongDr. Lewis F. Hanes
Caleb P. MasseyMajdi I. Radaideh
Yutai Katoh
NURETH-18Bao-Wen YangXiaodong Sun
Anna S. Erickson
Farzad Rahnema
Steven L. StammEric P. LoewenThe Navigating Nuclear Subject Matter Expert Team
Sen. James E. RischU.S. Senator for Idaho
Vivek Agarwal
Prof. Areg Danagoulian
Amy Harder
Patricia D. Paviet
Mr. Marvin S. Fertel
Jim KinseyMark Holbrook and Wayne Moe
James FlorenceIan B. Wall
UndergraduateUniversity of Tennessee: Equilibrium Core Design of a NuScale Designed Small Modular Reactor using CASL's Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA)Students: Michael Hines, Molly Underwood, Andrew Naylor, Madeleine Burrell, Logan Clowers, and Kalie KnechtAdvisor: Dr. G. Ivan MaldonadoRensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Design of a Zirconium Critical BenchmarkStudents: Ngai To Yu, Chad Meece, Robert Jacob, Gabriella Bruno, and Ryan O'NeillAdvisor: Prof. Yaron DanonGraduateColorado School of Mines: Fusion-Fission Hybrid Reactor for Waste TransmutationStudents: Yerkebulan Ali, Brian Arko, Jonathan Karpesky, and Adam ParlerAdvisor: Dr. Jeffrey KingUniversity of Idaho: Design of Molten Salt Nuclear Battery (MSNB)Students: Eugene Engmann, John Peterson, James Richards, Derreck Blight, Winfred Sowah, and Joseph WarnerAdvisor: Dr. Richard N. Christensen
Shripad T. Revankar
Dave K. Hayes
Prof. Xian-Tu HeDr. Patrick Mora
Mohammad Modarres
Southern Nuclear
James A. RippleSouthern Nuclear Operating Company
Ryan G. McClarren
Alyse S. Huffman
Paul P. Wilson
Ann S. Bisconti
