UT Austin Students Attend Nuclear Digital Twin Study Abroad Program in Prague

Twelve students traveled to Prague as part of the inaugural Nuclear Digital Twin and Reactor Lab study abroad program, led by Senior Research Scientist Ondrej Chvala. Through hands-on research reactor training and classroom learning, students gained practical skills, real-world insights and professional perspectives that will benefit their future careers in the nuclear industry.

NETL Welcomes National Research Reactor Conference to Austin

The Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory (NETL) recently hosted the National Organization of Test, Research and Training Reactors (TRTR) Annual Conference, welcoming more than 150 nuclear professionals, researchers and students from across the country. The conference featured workshops, facility tours, networking opportunities, and nearly 60 papers and presentations spanning the full spectrum of research and test reactor operations, science and policy.

Inaugural NRE Advisory Board Newsletter

Chaired by Dale Klein, the board brings together leaders from national laboratories, industry, government agencies and the University to help guide the continued growth and strategic direction of the NRE program. The board will meet annually to advise on future priorities and provide an outside perspective on workforce needs, industry trends, research opportunities and educational priorities in the growing nuclear sector.

UT Student win Best Paper in Operations and Power at the ANS Student Conference

Jeongwon Seo and Sam Queralt won "Best Paper in Operations and Power" for their writing and presentation of "Efficiency Enhancement of Control Rod Worth Calibration in TRIGA Mk-II Reactor using Rod Swap Technique" at the ANS Student Conference in April. While current control rod calibration methods struggle to balance accuracy with efficiency, Rod Swap enables improvements in both. These new findings could be implemented at the university's own TRIGA reactor on the J. J. Pickle Research Campus. Until they are, this paper offers a new perspective on control rod worth calibration and invites further research in to improving the baseline operations of nuclear reactors.

More information can be found about control rod worth here: https://nuclear-twins.tacc.utexas.edu/rod_calibration

Director of Strategic Nuclear Programs Represents UT at ReCENT's PowerUp Summit

Dani Zigon, Director of Strategic Initiatives for UT Austin's Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program, delivered the opening keynote at Texas A&M's 2026 ReCENT Summit on April 28–29. The PowerUp program event brought approximately 500 middle and high school students to campus over two days for hands-on exposure to careers in clean energy and nuclear technology.