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Celebrating Professor Michael Driscoll's 80th Birthday with a Symposium at MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems (CANES) hosted a symposium on April 28 and 29, honouring Professor Michael J. Driscoll as he celebrates his 80th birthday this year. Over 90 colleagues and students, past and present, gathered to pay tribute to Driscoll's remarkable career in nuclear engineering.
The symposium commenced with a presentation by Mujid Kazimi, the Tokyo Electric Power Company Professor of Nuclear Engineering, who reflected on the importance of matching reactors to their missions. This was followed by the "Fuel Cycle Front and Back End" session, which delved into the deep borehole concept for nuclear waste disposal, a topic extensively researched by Driscoll and his students over two decades.
Several of Driscoll's former students spoke at the symposium, sharing favourite anecdotes or "Driscoll stories." Neil Todreas, the KEPCO Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering and co-chair of the organizing committee for the symposium, shared recollections of Driscoll's mentorship when Todreas joined the MIT faculty. Marc Goldsmith, outgoing president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering and a former student of Driscoll's, reflected on the profound impact of Driscoll's mentorship on his intellectual and personal development.
During the banquet, Driscoll presented his "wish list" for nuclear energy advancements. His list included cheap grid-scale storage, implementation of a carbon tax, development of nuclear hybrid systems like the FHR, rebuttal of the linear no-threshold theory of radiation health risk, and cautious optimism about small modular reactors. The banquet concluded with the announcement of a new fellowship, the Michael J. Driscoll Graduate Fellowship in Nuclear Science and Engineering, which will support a graduate student in NSE every year in perpetuity.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz noted in a congratulatory letter that the renewed interest in deep boreholes for nuclear waste disposal is largely due to the sustained research by Driscoll and his students. Kord Smith, the Korea Electric Power Company Professor of the Practice of Nuclear Science and Engineering, presented a talk titled "Advanced Computational Reactor Physics Methods: Are Computer Predictions More Accurate than Driscoll's Pen and Paper?"
Throughout the two days of the symposium, more than 20 papers were presented in six sessions. Driscoll, who is known for his handwritten notes or "Driscollgrams," was remembered by some speakers for receiving such notes, which contained extensive and thoughtful comments and questions. At the banquet, Driscoll charged all in attendance to "Go forward and make it so!"
The Michael J. Driscoll Graduate Fellowship in Nuclear Science and Engineering is awarded annually by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This fellowship will undoubtedly continue to inspire future generations of nuclear engineers, just as Driscoll has done throughout his illustrious career.
