Feature Articles

In today’s hyperconnected world, wireless communication faces a critical challenge known as the “spectrum crunch.” Spectrum crunch results from more devices vying for limited frequencies, creating an overcrowded radio frequency spectrum — a bottleneck that disrupts communication. Spectrum crunch threatens not only everyday conveniences like cellphone connectivity but also essential services, such as emergency response times, global positioning systems and military operations.

Father and son entrepreneurs Mehul and Milan Shah have patented a new nuclear fuel design that could reduce nuclear waste, enhance safety and lower costs for today’s pressurized heavy water reactors.

Keeping the nation’s lights on is no small job. The grid we take for granted involves large, expensive equipment, most notably power transformers. If one goes down, it can take more than a year to replace and at massive costs. In heavily populated, seismically active areas like California or the Pacific Northwest, time is not a luxury.

Camp Buehring, a United States military base nestled in northern Kuwait just 20 miles from the Iraqi border, faces a challenge: there are no wells, rivers or other easily accessible sources of water.

Eleven governors and their state energy offices are putting out ready-for-business signs to advanced nuclear energy developers under an initiative that taps into experts at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

While Joy Morin was an undergraduate intern at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), she discovered her interest in developing nuclear fuels and technology. Her mentor recommended she pursue a graduate degree at Boise State University in materials and engineering to continue her research.

To meet energy demands and reestablish the nation’s energy dominance, U.S. companies are developing several types of advanced reactors.

One type of advanced reactor, a molten salt reactor, uses fuels dissolved in molten salt coolants instead of the solid fuels used in traditional nuclear reactors. These reactors feature enhanced safety features and high temperatures, which will offer utilities more flexibility in the form of efficient heat and electricity.

Hydropower is a reliable source of energy. However, the inconsistent nature of water flows and electricity demand often challenges hydropower operators and reduces revenue.

Data centers are one of the fastest growing areas of America’s technology sector. These massive warehouses of servers make some of today’s most important technical achievements possible, such as the expanding use of artificial intelligence applications and cryptocurrency mining. Because they use a great deal of energy, they emit a substantial amount of waste heat. But rather than let the heat – well, go to waste – what if we could use it to create new revenue streams for businesses?

Everyday life depends on a robust infrastructure network that provides access to running water, communications technology and electricity, among other basic necessities. The experts who keep our national infrastructure secure and resilient also need a strong network to share their knowledge and train the next generation of professionals capable of solving complex infrastructure challenges. This means finding ways to bring government, academia and the private sector together. One way is through sabbaticals that temporarily place professors in our national labs.