Author: ydo8

Successful Launch of the Nuclear and AI Outreach and K12 Education Workshop

On July 9th, we had the pleasure of hosting the Nuclear and AI Outreach and K12 Education Workshop. The event showcased the great work of Ms. Marchan Jackson, who presented an educational module aimed at middle school students (grades 6-8). This innovative module, designed to introduce young learners to the field of nuclear engineering, will be available on Canvas and has the potential to be adopted by numerous other schools, nurturing future generations of engineers and nuclear specialists.

The workshop also featured a series of insightful presentations from our esteemed colleagues, each highlighting their cutting-edge research in the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, and nuclear technology. Sungmin Kim and Youndo Do shared the overview robotics project and demonstrated quadruped simulation in our digital twin. Stephen Yoo discussed the intricacies of Molten Salt Reactors (MSR), offering a comprehensive overview of this promising nuclear technology. The event underscored the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the pivotal role of education in shaping the future of technology and engineering. The enthusiastic participation and engagement of all attendees made the workshop a truly memorable and impactful experience.

We look forward to continuing our efforts in educational outreach and fostering a deeper understanding of nuclear engineering and advanced technologies among young students.

Dr. Zhang at ANS Annual meeting

At the recent American Nuclear Society (ANS) Annual Meeting, a thought-provoking robotics panel was organized and led by Dr. Zhang. The event brought together experts from both academia and industry to delve into the opportunities and challenges of applying robotics in nuclear power plants.

The panel featured distinguished speakers, including Daniel Moneghan, Young Soo Park, Joshua Guzman Bell, PE, MBA, and was moderated by the esteemed Forrest Shriver. Their collective insights spurred a lively and insightful discussion, highlighting both the potential benefits and the technical hurdles of integrating robotics into nuclear facilities.

The panel addressed a range of topics, from the enhancement of safety and efficiency through robotic intervention to the complexities of deploying advanced technology in highly regulated environments. The discussion underscored the critical role of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing this field, bridging the gap between innovative research and practical application.

Acknowledgments were extended to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for its crucial funding support, which has been instrumental in advancing the research presented. The ANS Robotics and Remote Systems Division (RRSD) also received heartfelt thanks for sponsoring the panel, contributing to the success and visibility of this important discourse.

iFAN Lab in NPIC&HMIT 2023 Conference

iFAN Lab members, Dr. Fan Zhang, Sungmin Kim, and Stephen Yoo, participated and showed the great work of the lab in the NPIC&HMIT 2023 conference held in Knoxville, Tennessee. As session chair of two technical sessions and two panel discussions, Dr. Zhang actively lead the idea sharing on cyber security for LWRs and advanced reactors and risk-informed cyber security. Sungmin presented his work in cyber-attack detection and distinguish system for nuclear power plants, and participated in the student research lighting round presenting robot assisted online monitoring framework for nuclear power plants. Stephen presented his work of resilience strategy against false data injection attacks targeting nuclear power plants. The lab members were able to gain valuable feedbacks and experience throughout the conference. Way to go, iFAN Lab!

Georgia Tech Researchers Awarded $1M for Nuclear Energy Project

Congratulations! Dr. Fan Zhang has been awarded $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a nuclear energy research project through the Nuclear Engineering University Program (NEUP) as a co-PI. With the lead PI, Dr. Shaheen Dewji, the lab will start working on the project “Risk-Informed Consequence-Driven Hybrid Cyber-Physical Protection System Security Optimization for Advanced Reactor Sites.” The project aims to develop an expanded methodology for designing a novel risk-informed cybersecurity-integrated physical protection system (PPS) framework for advanced reactor (AR) concepts that serve to reduce the operational costs for the life of a reactor against that of a traditional light water reactor PPS design, promoting efforts to credit safety features of advanced reactors through proposed amendments to current security regulations while integrating health and economic consequence analyses.

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