(Fall 2010 / Spring 2011)
This year-long research project — led by Prof. Alan J. Kuperman and involving 14 graduate students in nuclear engineering and global policy studies — explores the technical and political prospects and challenges of reducing worldwide non-weapons usage of highly enriched uranium (HEU).  Most previous research and policy initiatives in this area have focused on the use of HEU as fuel for nuclear research reactors and as targets for production of medical isotopes.  Our project updates and broadens the scope of past research to cover all remaining non-weapons usage of HEU, including the following: naval propulsion, ice-breaking ship reactors, floating reactors, critical assemblies, pulsed reactors, research reactors, and isotope production.  The research project is funded by the Nuclear Threat Initiative and the University of Texas at Austin.  For further information, see the book that resulted from this research project.