Congratulations to Dr. Xu Wu, assistant professor of nuclear engineering at NC State University. He is the recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy Distinguished Early Career Award. During the 2024 American Nuclear Society Student Conference, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dr. Huff gave attendees a first look at this year’s awards under the Office of Nuclear Energy’s University Programs. Recipients of more than $19 million in awards supporting nuclear energy research, infrastructure, and undergraduate and graduate education.​

Dr. Wu is the principal investigator of the ARTISANS (ARTificial Intelligence for Simulation of Advanced Nuclear Systems) research group. The research in the ARTISANS group revolves around uncertainty quantification (UQ) and scientific machine learning (SciML). The goal is to combine SciML, experimentation and modeling & simulation (M&S) into a unified approach to improve the predictive capabilities of computer models and enable reduced reliance on expensive measurement data. Additionally, the application of such research will be focused on risk and economics evaluations of advanced nuclear reactors, such as small modular reactors and micro-reactors. The goal is to dramatically reduce the capital and operating costs of nuclear systems to maintain global technology leadership for nuclear energy.

The Distinguished Early Career Program (DECP) is the Office of Nuclear Energy’s most prestigious award for faculty members beginning their independent careers. The intent of the program is to invest in the innovative research and education programs of outstanding early career university faculty poised to pave new lines of inquiry and advance mission critical research directions in nuclear energy.