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The SALT Research Group

UC Berkeley Nuclear Engineering Department

  • | Group
    • Raluca O. Scarlat
    • Haley Williams
    • Ryan Hayes
    • Alexandra (Sasha) Kennedy
    • Michael Borrello
    • D. Nathanael Gardner
    • Nicole Johnson
    • Sarah Heagy
    • Tim Pickarski
  • | Publications
  • | Projects
    • ThorCon Corrosion Project
    • NEUP – High Temperature Molten Salt Reactor Pump Development
    • NEUP – IRP Molten Salt Reactor Test Bed with Neutron Irradiation
    • Speciation of Light Elements in Molten Salts
    • FUTURE EFRC
    • Graphite and Tritium Studies in Molten Fluoride Salts
  • I INGSM-24 Conference
  • | Beryllium Safety
  • | Courses
  • | News & Events
    • Haley Williams Nominated to Give Presentation at the NEA Global Forum on Nuclear Education, Science, Technology and Policy
    • | Open House Nov. 2nd
    • | MS Round Robin 1.0
    • | Chemical Sensors Workshop 2020
    • | Molten Salt Bootcamp 2019
  • Raluca O. Scarlat
  • Haley Williams
  • Ryan Hayes
  • Alexandra (Sasha) Kennedy
  • Michael Borrello
  • D. Nathanael Gardner
  • Nicole Johnson
  • Sarah Heagy
  • Tim Pickarski

Nicole Johnson

Email: nicole_johnson@berkeley.edu

Research

BIOGRAPHY

Nicole started working on her Nuclear Engineering PhD in 2023. She graduated from UC Irvine with a BS in Chemical Engineering and a license to operate the university’s TRIGA reactor in 2019. She then spent the next 4 years working as a nuclear plant operator at Beaver Valley Power Station, near Pittsburgh.

PROJECTS

At UCB, she is currently working on the ThorCon Natural Circulation Loop, which is will simulate ThorCon’s proposed NaFBe salt coolant in the secondary loop of their reactor. The goal is to determine the degree to which the high temperature difference between the hot and cold legs will cause the stainless steel piping to be dissolved in the hot leg and deposited in the cold leg. This project involves a large volume of 600°C salt to remain molten and flowing for six months, so there is a lot of design, fabrication, and assembly involved!

UNDERGRADUATE MENTORING

  • Sean Tang
  • Sebastian Barnes
  • Valentino Saiz

ORCiD profile: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3409-4935

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