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Collaborative $9M UC San Diego Award Aimed at Sparking Fusion Energy Breakthrough

February 27, 2024

 In a pioneering initiative, universities, industry leaders, and national laboratories are banding together to accelerate the development of fusion energy. Funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) and powered by a $9 million budget over four years, the project named SMARTS (Surrogate Models for Accurate and Rapid Transport Solutions) aims to pave the way for more efficient and reliable fusion reactor performance prediction.

Funded as part of the DOE's $112 million in awards to the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program, SMARTS brings together a consortium of institutions including University of California San Diego, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), General Atomics, Sapientai, Kalling Software, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratory. Read full article.

 

UC San Diego is Part of DOE Grant to Establish Inertial Fusion Energy Hub

 

February 7, 2024

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a four-year, $16 million grant to a multi-institutional team led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and including the University of California San Diego to establish a national Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) Science & Technology Accelerated Research for Fusion Innovation & Reactor Engineering (STARFIRE) Hub.  

This IFE hub will accelerate demonstration of high-gain target designs, target manufacturing and engagement and diode-pumped solid state laser technologies, with development of these technologies guided through an IFE-plant modeling framework. The project will also begin developing the workforce of the future for IFE through partnerships with leading universities and innovative new curriculum development and implementation. Read full article.

 

Center for Matter Under Extreme Conditions is Renewed, NNSA to Award $100 Million for Stewardship Science Academic Alliances Centers of Excellence

May 11, 2023

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration selected eight universities to receive cooperative agreements totaling $100 million to establish nine Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (SSAA) Centers of Excellence to support research activities in areas of physical sciences and engineering.

The SSAA program funds research grants and cooperative agreements to provide opportunities for scientific collaboration between the academic community and scientists at the DOE and NNSA national laboratories. A main objective of the SSAA is to develop and maintain a long-term recruiting pathway supporting the national laboratories by training and educating the next generation of scientists in critical areas of science and technology research relevant to stockpile stewardship.  Read full article.

 

CER Scientists Participate in Expanding Your Horizons Workshop for Middle School Girls

March 18, 2023

On March 18, 2023, two groups of CER scientists participated in the Expanding Your Horizons workshop, which aims to educate and motivate middle school girls in STEM. The workshop was held in person at the University of San Diego for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The event attracted girls from underrepresented communities in East County and the southern part of San Diego. Read full article.

 

Farhat Beg named the inaugural recipient of the Shao-Chi and Lily Lin Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Engineering Science

January 31, 2023

Farhat Beg, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC San Diego and a renowned high energy density science expert, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Shao-Chi and Lily Lin Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Engineering Science.

The Lin Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Engineering Science was established with a $1 million gift from Lily Lin in honor of her late husband, Jacobs School of Engineering Professor Emeritus Shao-Chi Lin, to support the teaching, research and service activities of a distinguished faculty member in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. An additional $500,000 matching endowment was created as a part of the Chancellor’s Endowed Chair Challenge. Read full announcement.

 

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