A close-up of the Breazeale Reactor at Penn State University Park. The reactor will receive upgrades as part of the grant funding awarded to Penn State from the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy University Program. Credit: Penn State College of Engineering
$3.6M in grants awarded to nuclear engineering projects
Nuclear Energy University Program will fund Breazeale Reactor upgrades, nuclear energy research and development
Apr 1, 2025
By Mariah Lucas
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Six nuclear engineering researchers in the Penn State Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering were recently awarded Nuclear Energy University Program grants from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The grants were awarded under two categories: infrastructure projects related to improving Penn State’s Breazeale Reactor and research and development projects across various fields in nuclear engineering. The research and development program seeks to maintain U.S. leadership in nuclear research across the country by providing science and engineering faculty and their students with opportunities to develop technologies and solutions for civil nuclear capabilities, while the infrastructure program supports upgrades to the nation’s 25 university-based nuclear reactors. The grants awarded to Penn State researchers range in value from $79,000 to $1 million.
“Along with their collaborators and students, these principal investigators are tasked by the Department of Energy to develop innovative solutions for our country’s nuclear engineering challenges and capabilities,” said Jon Schwantes, professor and acting head of Penn State’s nuclear engineering department. “From increasing efficiencies at our reactor facility to fuel separations and microreactors, these research teams are at the forefront of expanding the collective knowledge of nuclear engineering.”
The principal investigators, their project titles and their Penn State-affiliated collaborators are below:
- Saya Lee, assistant professor of nuclear engineering, received $1 million for the project, “Development of the Technical Bases to Support Flexible Siting of Microreactors based on Right-Sized Emergency Planning Zones.” The project was reassigned from Jean Paul Allain, professor of nuclear engineering at Penn State, who is currently on leave to serve as associate director of the Fusion Energy Sciences office in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Allain was not involved in the grant awarding process.
- Amanda Johnsen, assistant professor of nuclear engineering, received $1 million for her project, “Pre-Treatment and Bulk Separation of Used Fuels with Carbonate-Peroxide Solutions.”
- Martin de Jesus Nieto-Perez, associate teaching professor of nuclear engineering, and his collaborators Juan Pablo Gevaudan, assistant professor of architectural engineering; and Saya Lee, assistant professor of nuclear engineering; received $998,793 for their project, “Feasibility Study of Micro-Nuclear Reactor Thermal Output for Air Rotary Kilns in the High-Temperature Manufacturing of Portland Cement Clinker.”
- Saya Lee, assistant professor of nuclear engineering, and his collaborators Marek Flaska, associate professor of nuclear engineering; Hojong Kim, associate professor of nuclear engineering and of materials science and engineering; Amanda Johnson, assistant professor of nuclear engineering; Xing Wang, assistant professor of nuclear engineering; and Federico Scurti, assistant professor of nuclear engineering, received $326,898 for their project, “High-Speed X-Ray Imaging System under a Chemically Protected Environment for Advanced High-Temperature Non-Water-Cooled Reactor Experiments.”
- Jeffrey Geuther, associate director for operations of Penn State’s Radiation Science and Engineering Center and associate research professor of nuclear engineering, received $177,409 for his project, “Operations and Utilization Improvements at the PSU Breazeale Reactor.”
- Kenan Ünlü, director of Penn State’s Radiation Science and Engineering Center and professor of nuclear engineering, received $78,531 for his project, “Radiological Safety and Operational Reliability Enhancements at the Penn State Breazeale Reactor.”
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