The Transformational Challenge Reactor Program

AIChE Knoxville - Oak Ridge Section

February 2021 Meeting – Joint with American Nuclear Society - Virtual Meeting & In-Person Meeting

Date: Thursday, February 18, 2021

Location: K Town Tavern, 320 N Peters Rd, Knoxville, TN 37922

Attending the Zoom Meeting is Free. Please use Eventbrite to register.

5:00 pm Executive Committee Meeting (All members welcome)

5:30 pm Social/Networking/Virtual Student Poster Presentation

6:00 pm Dinner - $20 for members and free for students (Pay by cash or check onsite, or in advance using Eventbrite. There is no charge for the program or PDH Certificate)

7:00 pm Program - Benjamin R. Betzler, ORNL, Senior R&D Staff, Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate

The Transformational Challenge Reactor Program

Abstract - The Transformational Challenge Reactor Program is bringing to bear additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence to deliver enabling technologies for advanced reactors. Through the application of these advanced technologies, the program targets delivering solutions to the high costs and lengthy deployment timelines that threaten the future of nuclear energy—the country’s largest source of carbon-free energy.

Speaker Biography - Dr. Benjamin R. Betzler, Senior R&D Staff, Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate, Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division, Nuclear Modeling and Simulation Development and Deployment, betzlerbr@ornl.gov

Dr. Benjamin R. Betzler is a reactor analyst and methods developer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with specialized knowledge of advanced reactor systems and Monte Carlo radiation transport methods. Since joining ORNL in 2014, he has made contributions to the High Flux Isotope Reactor low-enriched uranium conversion project, the DOE Systems Analysis and Integration campaign, SCALE methods development and testing, and the Molten Salt Reactor campaign. As the design thrust lead of the U.S. DOE-NE Transformational Challenge Reactor Program, Dr. Betzler coordinates efforts between reactor design, manufacturing, and system design staff to design, analyze, and deploy a nuclear reactor leveraging advanced manufacturing. He is currently group leader of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Research and Test Reactor Physics Group. Dr. Betzler received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences from the University of Michigan in 2014.