Research

Clean & Sustainable Nuclear Energy: Science-Led Waste Management

CARE Laboratory delivers science-based solutions for safely managing the radioactive waste that inevitably accompanies the use of nuclear energy. Radiochemistry lies at the core of our work: we probe how radioactive nuclides behave across a broad range of environments. Our scope covers fission products and their decay progeny, nuclear-fuel materials such as uranium and plutonium (plus the early actinides), activation products formed by neutron irradiation, and other hazardous species generated in the nuclear industry. We are interested in chemistry of hundreds of isotopes spanning dozens of elements in water, molten salts, soils, cements, metals, and irradiated systems—intrinsically complex yet equally fascinating!

Whenever emerging nuclear technologies call for chemical insight, we engage enthusiastically. Thus, ultimately, our goal is to harness nuclear fuel cycle chemistry to make nuclear power cleaner, more sustainable, and more widely trusted.

Trainees usually work perform both experiment and modeling, while students in doctoral program are trained to achieve high-level experimental expertise. Although we rely mainly on stable isotopes, we occasionally handle radioactive isotopes—demanding meticulous design but yielding uniquely valuable data. The adventure may involve inert-atmosphere gloveboxes, high-pressure gases, concentrated acids, high-temperature setups, lasers, and ultracentrifuges with high g. Our analytical arsenal, UV–Vis-NIR, IR, NMR, XRD, TGA, ICP-OES/MS, IC, HPLC, EXAFS, Raman, Laser Spectroscopy and more, provides the keen eyes that guide each new scientific step.

Key words: Radiochemistry, Nuclear Fuel Cycle Chemistry, Chemical Modeling, Repository Science, Analytical/Separation Chemistry, Data Science in Waste Management