Conference: NSF EPSCoR Workshop: Intelligent Manufacturing for Extreme Environments

This conference proposes to host a two-day conference at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) in Idaho Falls, Idaho. This conference will feature keynotes, panels, and breakout sessions with an estimated sixty participants covering various aspects of intelligent manufacturing for extreme environments. The conference will convene world-class experts, researchers, educators, and students to identify gaps and envision solutions in relevant areas of great importance. The conference will promote exchange of ideas and knowledge during the proposed event and will catalyze new collaborations and research directions that will support the growth of carbon-free advanced nuclear energy research in Idaho, Wyoming, as well as other western states. The conference organizers will use funding for travel grants, recruiting women and persons from underrepresented groups to participate to achieve participation from a diverse section of the society. The outcomes of the conference will include an opportunity for researchers and educators to network and form collaborations and preparation of a full report to inform policy makers, industry, and the academic community of various challenges and opportunities of advanced manufacturing, specifically in the nuclear energy sector.The overarching goal of this conference proposal is to host a two-day conference on Intelligent Manufacturing for Extreme Environments. The conference will identify gaps and envision solutions for five inter-related challenges of intelligent manufacturing in extreme environments. These challenges are: (1) printable electronics that can survive extreme environments, (2) in situ manufacturing process monitoring and feedback control, (3) machine learning to optimize process variables in manufacturing and materials composition, (4) extreme temperature qualification and testing, and (5) workforce development and community college engagement. Nuclear reactors need to operate under extreme service conditions such as high temperatures, corrosive environment, and high radiation doses. Hence, reactor components must be able to withstand those conditions. Successful innovation would revolutionize the nuclear power sector, enable fast commercial development, create economic opportunities in the US, reduce carbon footprint and associated climate risks, and promote a skilled and highly competitive workforce. The novelty of the conference is the convergent integration of computational design, process control, materials discovery, materials characterization, and workforce development. The conference will provide an opportunity for the community to discuss new scientific research, the needs for future research, gaps in the scientific literature, and provide a conference of national interest that could drive scientific engagement with the broader community including involving researchers from the underrepresented groups, and industry collaborations. The conference will provide opportunities to engage with industry, provide opportunities for community college educators to learn about what is happening at the cutting-edge of manufacturing science, and increase public awareness through science engagement.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.