A vast array of critical new technologies rely on rare earth metals, a group of elements that are difficult to mine because they are so well dispersed in the earth and often contain radioactive elements such as thorium and uranium.
Small modular reactors, long touted as the future of nuclear energy, will actually generate more radioactive waste than conventional nuclear power plants, according to research from Stanford and the University of British Columbia.
More than a decade after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) disaster, an international team of researchers uncovered critical new information related to the retrieval and management of fuel debris, the solidified mixture of melted nuclear fuel and other materials that lie at the base of the damaged reactors.
The White House has reappointed CISAC's Rod Ewing as chairman of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, which oversees the Department of Energy activities related to the safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste.
Rod Ewing, a mineralogist and materials scientist who is an expert on nuclear waste management, will join Stanford University to focus on sustainable energy, security and environmental research at the intersection of physical science and public policy.