Nuclear Science and Engineering

MIT’s graduate program in engineering has again earned a No. 1 spot in U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings, a place it has held since 1990, when the magazine first ranked such programs.

MIT graduate engineering, business programs ranked highly by U.S. News for 2021

Graduate engineering program is No. 1 in the nation; MIT Sloan is No. 5.

March 17, 2020

An MIT team found a way to “recruit” normally disruptive quantum bits (qubits) in diamond to, instead, help carry out quantum operations. This approach could be used to help scale up quantum computing systems.

Novel method for easier scaling of quantum devices

System “recruits” defects that usually cause disruptions, using them to instead carry out quantum operations.

March 5, 2020

Thomas Dupree, professor emeritus of nuclear science and engineering and physics, dies at 86

Highly regarded physicist was well-known for studying plasma turbulence in terms of coherent structures.

February 28, 2020

"MIT is where I became myself — a thinker and an engineer," says Ciara Sivels ’13.

From culinary arts to nuclear engineering

Ciara Sivels ’13 takes unusual path to a research career in nuclear engineering for national security.

February 26, 2020

GradSAGE Leadership Sub-Committee members (left to right): Vamsi Mangena, Elise Wilcox, Benjamin Lienhard, Lucio Milanese, Laureen Meroueh, and Clinton Wang

A new way to prepare graduate students to lead in tech

A new graduate certificate offered through the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program will launch this fall.

February 26, 2020

Researchers found that strontium cobalt oxide (SCO) naturally occurs in an atomic configuration called brownmillerite (center), but when oxygen ions are added to it (right), it becomes more orderly and more heat conductive, and when hydrogen ions are added (left) it becomes less orderly and less heat conductive.

A material’s insulating properties can be tuned at will

Most materials have a fixed ability to conduct heat, but applying voltage to this thin film changes its thermal properties drastically.

February 24, 2020

At an IAP workshop in the new nuclear makerspace, "MIT Nucleus," participants created fusors, devices that use an electric field to accelerate ions to energies high enough to fuse nuclei, giving off a purple glow.

Fusor workshop inaugurates nuclear makerspace

Building devices to study fusion at the new (and highly controlled) “MIT Nucleus” makerspace generates enthusiasm — and a purple glow.

February 24, 2020

In a diamond crystal, three carbon atom nuclei (shown in blue) surround an empty spot called a nitrogen vacancy center, which behaves much like a single electron (shown in red). The carbon nuclei act as quantum bits, or qubits, and it turns out the primary source of noise that disturbs them comes from the jittery “electron” in the middle. By understanding the single source of that noise, it be...

Correcting the “jitters” in quantum devices

A new study suggests a path to more efficient error correction, which may help make quantum computers and sensors more practical.

February 18, 2020

“Assuming I continue to graduate school, I think I would like to be involved in a research effort," says MIT junior Analyce Hernandez, "like the one I’m working on in dark matter, where I uncloak big mysteries and discover something fundamental about the way the universe works.”

Analyce Hernandez: Uncloaking big mysteries

Junior double major seeks to piece together puzzles of the universe, particle by particle.

February 12, 2020

New research by engineers at MIT and elsewhere could lead to batteries that can pack more power per pound and last longer.

New electrode design may lead to more powerful batteries

An MIT team has devised a lithium metal anode that could improve the longevity and energy density of future batteries.

February 3, 2020

Research Scientist Nathan Howard used data from MIT's Alcator C-Mod tokamak as the basis for an award-winning paper.

Nathan Howard wins Nuclear Fusion Award

Researcher unravels the mystery of heat loss in turbulent fusion plasmas.

January 29, 2020

“In courses like Nuclear Technology and Society, which covered the benefits and risks of nuclear energy, I saw that some people believed the solution for climate change was definitely nuclear, while others said it was wind or solar,” says doctoral student Nestor Sepulveda. “I began wondering how to determine the value of different technologies.”

Zeroing in on decarbonization

Wielding complex algorithms, nuclear science and engineering doctoral candidate Nestor Sepulveda spins out scenarios for combating climate change.

January 15, 2020

A small-scale device, seen here, was used in the lab to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new shockwave-based system for removing radioactive contaminants from the cooling water in nuclear powerplants.

A new way to remove contaminants from nuclear wastewater

Method concentrates radionuclides in a small portion of a nuclear plant’s wastewater, allowing the rest to be recycled.

December 19, 2019

School of Engineering third quarter 2019 awards

Faculty members recognized for excellence via a diverse array of honors, grants, and prizes over the last quarter.

November 27, 2019

For his prize-winning thesis, Pablo Rodriguez-Fernandez examined data from MIT's Alcator C-Mod tokamak (background).

Heating by cooling

Pablo Rodriguez-Fernandez resolves a fusion paradox to receive Del Favero Prize.