Modeling, Experimentation and Validation School draws nuclear experts, researchers and students to Idaho National Laboratory

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory http://www.inl.gov , in cooperation with Argonne National Laboratory and Idaho State University, will host the Modeling, Experimentation and Validation (MeV) School July 21-30 in Idaho Falls.

More than 50 students and researchers from national and international settings are registered for the 10-day session that will bring together many experts in the field of thermal hydraulics, reactor physics and safety analysis.

“The curriculum intends to bridge three areas of modeling, experimentation and validation,” said Nam Truc Dinh, Ph.D., a Fellow at INL and one of the academic deans of the MeV School.

An international board of senior experts directed the organization and conduct of the school, drawing topical expertise from around the globe. Lecturers come from universities and laboratories to ensure a wide range of teaching and mentoring expertise for the MeV students.

The vision is that with the basic theoretical foundation of nuclear information the discussions will evolve from there, allowing the early career nuclear engineers to share knowledge with experienced scientists from industry, universities and national labs.

“The special thing is this school offers the opportunity for interactions between attendees, lecturers, and mentors from national labs, such as a poster session, a panel with distinguished scientists and leaders, and roundtables in the evenings,” said Dinh.

The MeV School will focus on thermal hydraulics, reactor physics and safety analysis while emphasizing the anticipated future demands and challenges of nuclear energy. The school aims to develop a network of nuclear scientists capable of leading the cultural transformation to risk-informed design, operation and safety of advanced nuclear power plants.

“The drive here is to promote a culture in design and safety analysis that removes formal partitioning between the three areas, while promoting their synergy, so the students can later be more effective in their research and analysis work,” said Dinh.

For more information on the MeV School, visit http://www.MeVSchool.org.

INL is one of the DOE’s 10 multi-program national laboratories. The laboratory performs work in each of the strategic goal areas of DOE: energy, national security, science and environment. INL is the nation’s leading center for nuclear energy research and development. Day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory is the responsibility of Battelle Energy Alliance.