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The Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness, a South Carolina-Georgia based group that provides information about the benefits and risks of nuclear technologies, has honored Dr. George Wicks, of DOE's Savannah River National Laboratory, for his 30 years of contributions in multiple fields related to materials science, spanning areas that include waste management, environmental remediation, sensor development, material corrosion, hydrogen storage, weapons dismantlement, reactor operations, and hybrid microwave technology. CNTA presented Dr. Wicks their Fred C. Davison Distinguished Scientist of the Year Award. He is best known for his research and leadership in developing and understanding processes, systems, and procedures for immobilizing and disposing of potentially hazardous nuclear waste. Among his early contributions was the development of the first slurry feeding system for vitrification of the Savannah River Site's high-level radioactive waste, an innovation that saved many millions of dollars. Internationally, he serves on advisory panels for the CEA of France and the European Commission, and is well-known for his work in programs involving the burial of glass samples for testing and analysis to increase understanding of the performance and durability of the glasses used for disposal of nuclear waste. Most recently, he developed and coordinated the first major international in-situ testing program conducted in the U.S. involving burial of simulated nuclear waste systems and participation of seven countries. In recent years, he has concentrated much of his effort on “dual-use” technologies, which take SRNL's areas of expertise, initially developed over decades of support for the Savannah River Site, and apply them in a variety of new fields. Of particular interest to him is his work to foster collaborations between SRNL and the medical field to apply SRNL technologies to medical uses. Dr. Wicks has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications, including four books and eight chapters in text or reference books including two encyclopedias, chaired or co-chaired eight international symposia or workshops, and earned 14 patents.Submitted by DOE's Savannah River National Laboratory |
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Stardust arrives for X-ray analysisThey came from outer space. And now, particles of comet dust that traveled from the far reaches of the solar system are traveling the U.S., including a stop at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne. The particles – so tiny that several fit across the width of a human hair – are the first pieces of a comet to have ever been plucked from outer space and returned to Earth. The collection was part of NASA's Stardust mission, which collected dust and carbon-based samples during its closest encounter with Comet Wild 2.
Four of those samples recently spent a few days at Argonne, and almost that entire time they were bombarded by the high-precision APS X-ray beams to help determine their chemical makeup. "Comets form far out in the solar system," explained researcher George Flynn of State University of New York Plattsburgh who is working on the project with researchers from the University of Chicago. "They have trapped original parts of the solar system in ice for four and a half billion years. We have material that we think is the original dust that the solar system formed from. And if we want to understand the Earth, we need to understand what it's made of.” Prior to landing at Argonne, the samples were analyzed at the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Using the APS, the samples can be studied at much higher energies allowing researchers to detect heavier elements and map the samples at smaller scales. After the particles are extracted from the aerogel, some will return to Argonne, where researchers will examine individual minerals in the particles at the submicron scale. Once all research is finished, the samples will be housed at the Johnson Space Center and will remain available for researchers.Submitted by DOE's Argonne National Laboratory |
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