The United States Department of Energy has provided the University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s College of Engineering with more than $1.4 million for research. The grant is part of a wider ESCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) funding effort worth $21 million for 29 new projects. Of that number, UNL is one of just four institutions to have two projects chosen for funding.
One research program seeks to find safe ways to store spent nuclear material, which is a problem that has yet to be solved. Dr. Mark Riley, Associate Dean for Research at the College of Engineering, told KLIN News, “Storage of spent nuclear fuel has been an important topic of conversation for decades now, and we really haven’t found good solutions of how to safely store the material.”
Another research effort deals with “new kinds of materials” and how they interact with light. The research opens up opportunities “from solar energy production or possibly in the utilization for quantum technologies, which could have a huge impact on computing and data storage and data transmission,” according to Dr. Riley.
“I think it’s a great example of Nebraska researchers doing cutting-edge work that is not only going to push the boundaries of science but also have a practical impact on the public,” said Dr. Riley. “So, we’re real excited about these projects. We think they’ll do great work.”