Reza Hashemi-Nezhad - Physics

Research into accelerator driven systems: a safe and sustainable method of nuclear energy production

The Institute of Nuclear Science (INS), hosted in the School of Physics, is where Dr Hashemi-Nezhad has been working on theoretical and experimental aspects of the Accelerator Driven System (ADS) for more than a decade.

ADS is a nuclear reactor that operates under subcritical conditions that would mean Chernobyl-type accidents cannot happen. ADS uses thorium as fuel, a resource abundantly available in the earth’s crust and of which Australia has the world’s largest resources. It does not produce plutonium (a weapon material) and above all it can incinerate its own nuclear waste and the waste produced from existing conventional nuclear reactors. This kind of new generation nuclear power plant would be safe and environmentally friendly.

INS has a special interest in nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation issues. Dr Hashemi-Nezhad submitted a proposal on ‘creation of proliferation barriers against misuse of uranium’ – especially high-enriched uranium – to the ARC in 2009. The proposal has the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Science and Technology Centre.

INS activities cover a broad spectrum. There is significant interest in the field of computer simulation of nuclear systems and materials such as those found in reactors and nuclear waste.

One of the key missions of the INS is to improve public perception of nuclear science by providing expert opinion to schools, media and the general public. The institute combines research and teaching expertise from across the University, and capitalises on Australia’s renewed status as a leader in nuclear science by virtue of the OPAL research reactor.