LARAMIE — A University of Wyoming professor is developing what could be groundbreaking technology to protect nuclear reactors from earthquake damage.

Ankit Saxena recently received a $200,000 federal grant to develop a system to help absorb the disruption that can be caused by earthquakes. The research is developing as site preparation is already underway on TerraPower’s Natrium reactor in Kemmerer and wheels are in motion for a micronuclear power boom in the United States.

Given the threat from earthquakes, some worry that the entire industry is on shaky ground. But the National Science Foundation is backing Saxena’s research because it sees potential in seismic damping technology. This puts UW at the forefront of efforts that set out to make nuclear reactors earthquake proof.

The two-

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