Making Nuclear Energy Safer and More Affordable

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

“In turn, that would have a positive impact for the profitability of your nuclear reactor, because that would enable you to provide more energy,” Zhao says. “Being able to provide more power without compromising safety and increasing costs makes nuclear energy more competitive.”

Impactful interactions

During his studies, Zhao took 22.312 (Engineering of Nuclear Reactors) and now considers it his favorite course at MIT. The course, taught by Jacopo Buongiorno, the TEPCO Professor and associate department head in nuclear science and engineering, covers the principles of nuclear reactor design, with a focus on the generation and removal of heat.

“Instead of showing slides, he put everything on the board, and made complicated subjects and concepts easily approachable,” Zhao says. Inspired by Buongiorno’s approach, Zhao aims to make his own research accessible for nonspecialists and easily applicable for the nuclear industry.

While 22.312 was required for Zhao’s field of study at MIT, he continued to take elective classes, even as recently as his fourth year. “For me, it’s not a burden,” Zhao says. “It’s more like, I learn things every day.”

Zhao credits his thesis advisor, Koroush Shirvan, assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and MIT education program lead for CASL, with providing him with the mentorship necessary to pursue ambitious, computationally intensive doctoral research and classwork.

He and Shirvan regularly discuss challenges in not only research, but also daily life. “What makes him so great as a mentor, is that he’s smart himself and really cares about his students. But to me, he is more than that: He’s like a big brother to me,” Zhao says.

“I feel like MIT is more than an Institute. It’s like a family,” Zhao says. “And I really want to contribute to making this world a better place, by either working in academia or in a research-oriented laboratory or company. No matter where I would be, my intrinsic motivation will stay the same.”

In the long-term, Zhao hopes to make an impact on the international nuclear community.

“I think that in a new nuclear world, people from different countries have to collaborate more,” Zhao says. “We need to work together as a team and make nuclear energy safer and more affordable.”

• < Previous Page