DOE-FIU Cooperative Agreement Research Program Review

Miami, Florida April 7, 2016 – Florida International University

The Applied Research Center (ARC) at Florida International University conducted a 3 day Research Program Review covering all technical research areas under the US Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) and Florida International University’s Applied Research Center Cooperative Agreement (Contract # DE-EM0000598).

Since 1995, the Applied Research Center (ARC) at Florida International University (FIU) has provided critical technical support to DOE-EM’s mission of accelerated risk reduction and cleanup of the environmental legacy of the nation’s nuclear weapons program. ARC’s fundamental and basic research is performed under the DOE-FIU Cooperative Agreement and provides support to DOE EM in the area of environmental remediation and STEM student workforce development. In August 2015, a new five year, $20M Cooperative Agreement was awarded to FIU’s Applied Research Center to continue its research and STEM development efforts in support of DOE EM (https://arc.fiu.edu/feature/doe-fiu-partnership-renewed-new-class-inducted/ ).

The various research projects under the Cooperative Agreement provide technical solutions for DOE sites such as Hanford, Oak Ridge, Savannah River, and Idaho and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in support of DOE’s environmental restoration mission. FIU STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students are fully engaged during the development of these research projects as part of the FIU-DOE Science & Technology Workforce Development Program (DOE Fellows Program). The DOE Fellows are trained and mentored by ARC’s technical personnel in an effort to secure the next generation of scientists and engineers that will be responsible for solving the technical challenges of the DOE nuclear complex legacy due to seven decades of nuclear research & development and production of nuclear weapons.

During April 5– April 7, 2016, a 3 day technical program review was conducted via VTC between DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and FIU’s Applied Research Center. Dr. Leonel Lagos (Cooperative Agreement Principal Investigator) led the ARC team composed of scientists, engineers, post-docs, and FIU STEM students. The ARC team presented the technical accomplishments achieved during the first 6 months of a new five year cycle (2015-2020).

A total of seven (7) main technical presentations were conducted over a 3 day period. The presentations included ARC’s research in the areas of high-level waste/waste processing, soil and groundwater remediation, Deactivation & Decommissioning (D&D) and Information Technology for Environmental Management applications, and STEM workforce development and training (DOE Fellows Program). The DOE-FIU program review included participation from colleagues from across the DOE Complex including DOE Headquarters (DC and Maryland Offices), DOE national laboratories (Savannah River National Lab, Pacific Northwest National Lab, and Los Alamos National Lab), DOE Carlsbad Office, and DOE contractors (Washington River Protection Solutions and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions).

For Additional Information please contact:

Dr. Leonel E. Lagos, Director of Research and PI
Applied Research Center
Florida International University
lagosl@fiu.edu

Presentations and additional information about the DOE-FIU Cooperative Agreement can be found at:  https://doeresearch.fiu.edu

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