Materials at the Edge — Radiation, Reactor Walls & Why Fusion Changes the Game - Dr. Gary Was
About this episode
Dr. Gary Was discusses the challenges and advancements in materials for fusion reactors.
Dr. Gary Was, one of the world’s foremost authorities on radiation effects and nuclear materials, joins Priyanca Ford to discuss how structural materials survive extreme radiation, heat, and particle flux inside reactors. Drawing on four decades at the University of Michigan and its Ion Beam Laboratory, he explains how ion-irradiation techniques stand in for reactor neutrons, why small modular reactors are reshaping fission economics, and why lowering neutron production makes the materials challenge far more tractable for fusion.
People in this episode
Host: Priyanca Ford
Guest: Dr. Gary Was
Topics covered
- radiation effects
- nuclear materials
- fusion energy
- reactor technology
- small modular reactors
Keywords
- radiation
- reactor walls
- fusion
- nuclear materials
- ion-irradiation
- small modular reactors
- neutron production
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Michigan, Ion Beam Laboratory
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