Life at the Center of the Energy Crisis

A Technologist's Search for a Black Swan

Life at the Center of the Energy Crisis: A Technologist's Search for a Black Swan describes the story of the author's work and struggles in the field of energy research. The author's experience in the field spans from work with Admiral Rickover and the Nuclear Navy to research with NASA designing propulsion for spacecraft to travel to Mars. The book provides insights into the differences between nuclear research done during the Cold War by the two superpowers, and offers a commentary on the flaws in each system with hope for change in the future. The book also provides a look into the development of the nuclear engineering program at the University of Illinois from the author's years as a professor and an administrator.

Contents:

• Why a “Black Swan”?
• Living at the Center of the Energy Crisis
• Timeline and Apology
• Early Days and Searching for a Starting Path
• Burnable Poison Control for Nuclear Submarine Reactors
• Nuclear Pulse Propagation and Fission Reactor Kinetics
• Nuclear Pumped Laser (NPL) Research
• Direct Electron Beam Pumped Laser
• Advanced Lasers
• Alpha Particle Effects in Thermonuclear Fusion Devices
• Alternate Fusion Concepts
• Advanced Fuel Fusion and Direct Energy Conversion
• Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF)
• Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) Fusion
• Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR)
• Hydrogen Economy and Fuel Cells
• Fusion Propulsion and Space Colonization
• Nuclear Batteries
• Computation and Theory
• Nuclear Power Plant Safety and the Illinois Low-Level Waste Site
• Teaching, Education, and University Administration
• Creation of a Small Company, NPL Associates, Inc.
• Where Am I in the Search? What Have I Found?
• Concluding Comments
• Timeline of Events

Readership: Undergraduates and PhDs, as well as anyone in the general public interested in the history of the field.