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Our Mission: Empowering the Next Generation
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ISNPS and Its Director, Mohamed S. El-Genk, are featured
in the Spring 2006 Issue of UNM Engineering Magazine. |
Whether they are employed in space or on Earth, new uses for nuclear energy continue to emerge year upon year, promising exciting benefits to humankind for generations to come. The Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies is at the forefront of the technological revolution in peaceful uses for nuclear power which will:
- Create efficient, dependable reactors designed to power bases on the Moon and Mars, and extend our knowledge of deep space using unmanned spacecraft traveling to the farthest reaches of the solar system and beyond.
- Build safe, cost-effective commercial reactors for use in underdeveloped nations where electricity and power are not yet universally available.
- Reduce nuclear waste generated by today's nuclear reactors, through an advanced fuel cycle which alters the half-life of existing reactor by-products, and renders them non-radioactive in hundreds rather than thousands of years.
- Develop the next generation of commercial nuclear power plants for meeting ever-growing global needs for environmentally friendly electricity production, and the generation of hydrogen fuel for industrial applications and transportation.
Versatile Research Goals
"Fostering innovations in energy development and improving the efficiency of current power sources is one way to benefit society and mankind," says ISNPS Director and Regents' Professor, Mohamed S. El-Genk.
Other ways in which UNM-ISNPS seeks to contribute to the scientific knowledge base include: the study of fluids transport through microchannels for nanotechnology applications, and cooling of high-power electronics through the use of boiling heat transfer and thermal management.
In addition, "Passive cooling using heat pipes, designing lightweight heat rejection radiators, and dynamic simulation of space power systems with either static energy conversion or turbo-machinery, are other major focus areas for UNM-ISNPS," says Jean-Michel Tournier, assistant research professor at the Institute.
Nuclear power and propulsion, however, remains a main focus of the Institute, developing the technology for reliable, safe, affordable, long-life, and lightweight power systems to support future space exploration missions and outposts.
Research teams at ISNPS-UNM are developing three space reactor designs that avoid single-point failures and provide a high degree of reliability. These designs are: the liquid metal-cooled Sectored Compact Reactor (SCoRe), the gas-cooled Submersion-Subcritical Safe Space reactor (S^4), designed to operate with multiple Closed Brayton Cycle (CBC) Engines; and the liquid metal heat pipe cooled Scalable AMTEC Integrated Reactor System (SAIRS). Redundancy is built into each reactor design to ensure continued operation of the power system for in excess of 10 years, operations safety, and longevity.
"These reactors are also designed to remain safe in case they are submerged in wet sand and flooded with seawater, following a launch abort accident," says INSPS post-doctorate fellow, Jeffrey C. King.
Educating Tomorrow's Engineers
As an academically-based, self-supporting research and development organization within the UNM School of Engineering, ISNPS stands by the belief that research is only half the equation. Without taking an active role in the education of tomorrow's engineers–today's sixth-grade through post-graduate level students–the promises of the future may never arrive.
UNM-ISNPS includes graduate and undergraduate students in its research teams, provides scholarships and fellowships through the NMOne Fellowship Program, and takes a proactive role in inspiring the next generation of college bound students to consider a career in nuclear engineering.
Education outreach activities play an important part of the Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF) , organized and hosted by ISNPS in Albuquerque, New Mexico each February. Among the activities are an annual Space Design Competition, and Special Secondary School Session, with prominent guest speakers from the space technology community.
"To me, the education and outreach programs are the most valuable contribution we can make to the state of New Mexico and the nation," says El-Genk.
STAIF: An Annual Meeting Approaching
Its Silver Anniversary
A message from STAIF's Technical and Publication Chair...
I am pleased to announce the theme for STAIF-2007, scheduled for February 11-15, 2007, at the Hotel Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now in its 24th year, the plenary sessions and technical program of this four-day, annual meeting will take their cue from the theme “Space Renaissance: Inspiring the Next Generation.”
The STAIF-2007 technical program features a broad spectrum of topics on: space nuclear power and thermal propulsion, science and technology; space exploration; space colonization; advanced propulsion concepts; advanced radioisotope power systems; thermophysics in microgravity; energy conversion technologies; nuclear fuel and high temperature materials; high power electric propulsion, heat pipes and capillary pumped loops and advanced radiators; nuclear reactor safety; simulation and modeling; space exploration, lunar and Mars outposts; and advanced propulsion physics. These topics span the range from basic research to the most recent technology advances and hardware development and testing.
STAIF continues to provide excellent opportunities for interaction and informative dialogue among the attendees from academia, industry, and government. As in previous years, STAIF-2007 hosts a number of concurrent conferences on closely related topics, which stimulate discussions, enrich technical interaction, and help the dissemination of knowledge among the attendees. The hosted conferences at STAIF-2007 are:
- 11th Conference on Thermophysics Applications in Microgravity; Chairs: Ted Swanson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and Tung T. Lam, The Aerospace Corporation.
- 24th Symposium on Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion; Chairs: Garry Burdick, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Michael Houts, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
- 5th Conference on Human/Robotic Technology and the National Vision for Space Exploration; Chairs: John Mankins, Artemis Innovation, Inc., Robert Wegeng, NASA Headquarters, Office of Exploration Systems, and Christopher Moore, NASA Headquarters.
- 5th Symposium on Space Colonization; Chairs: Edward McCullough, The Boeing Company, and Alex Ignatiev, University of Houston.
- 4th Symposium on New Frontiers and Future Concepts; Chairs: Paul Murad, U.S Department of Defense and Glen A. Robertson, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
The STAIF-2007 program will feature two plenary sessions, at which prominent speakers are invited to address timely topics related to this year’s theme. The Forum’s General Chair, Donald D. Cobb of Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Brewster Shaw of Boeing, are the plenary session organizers, working in concert with other members of the Steering and Executive Committees.
STAIF-2007 also features a half-day Educational Outreach Program on the first day of the meeting. This outreach program, serving secondary school students and teachers throughout New Mexico, celebrates its 19th anniversary at the conference with the display and judging of its annual Space Design Competition. More than 150 students, teachers, and parents are expected to participate in the activities. Members of the space community attending STAIF-2007 will act as judges for the annual competition, after which the winners and their teachers will be recognized at an awards ceremony during the second plenary session. Another component of the outreach program is the Secondary School Special Session, featuring a slate of invited speakers who address attending students, teachers, and parents on a variety of timely space topics. This annual outreach program is co-sponsored by NASA’s New Mexico Space Grant Consortium and the University of New Mexico’s Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies (ISNPS).
As in previous years, the technical program for STAIF-2007 is slated to include over 200+ presentations in more than 60 technical sessions.. We are very grateful to the members of the executive committee, and the chairs and co-chairs of the technical sessions, for their hard work, dedication, and contribution to the technical program. In addition, we wish to express our appreciation to the authors and speakers for their contributions to the technical program and to this year’s archival proceedings containing full text papers. These proceedings, published by the American Institute of Physics in a searchable CD and hardbound book format, are marketed by AIP worldwide.
On behalf of the Steering, Advisory, and Executive Committees, we wish to express our thanks to the professional societies co-sponsoring this year’s conference, the sponsoring organizations from government, industry, national laboratories, and universities, and the many international organizations participating this year, for their input and contributions to the program. We also wish to acknowledge the contributions of the exhibitors for their timely and informative displays on the latest in space technology, which have always been an integral and critical part of this annual meeting’s success.
We are grateful to the sessions’ organizers and chairs, speakers, and members of the STAIF Steering, Executive and Advisory Committees for their relentless effort in developing this year’s theme and their help in the organization and planning of the plenary sessions. Without the commitment, dedication, and contribution of each of these individuals, sponsoring and participating organizations, exhibitors, and the numerous organizers of the various events, this year’s meeting would not have been possible.
My heartfelt thanks go to the families of the Institute for Space Nuclear Power Studies (ISNPS) staff for their understanding, patience, and continued encouragement and support through the demanding task of organizing this year’s events. Special thanks are due to the University of New Mexico, its School of Engineering, and the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, for the support and encouragement they provide our students; their continued interest, contributions, and assistance.
Mohamed S. El-Genk
Regents' Professor,
Chemical, Nuclear, Mechanical Engineering
and ISNPS Director
Further Information
Get the full story on UNM-ISNPS's dual research-education mission in the Spring 2006 issue of UNM Engineering Magazine.
spring06unmearticle.pdf
Check-out the following links:
ISNPS Charter 
ISNPS Productivity
ISNPS Resources
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