OREANDA-NEWS. December 27, 2010. Academician of RAS supervising creation of the BN reactors F.М. Mitenkov delivered a lecture on “Fast Neutron power Reactors. Present Condition and Prospects for Improvement”.

The lecture was transmitted from National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (NRNU MEPhI) assembly hall to students lecture hall in 15 Russian cities: Tomsk, Seversk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Sarov, Vladimir, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don, Saint-Petersburg, Obninsk, Kaliningrad, Murmansk and others.

In his lecture delivered to the students of 15 universities the eminent scientist told them about the history of creation of fast neutron reactors which would make it possible for the nuclear power industry to use closed nuclear cycle in the future.

In response to the question of the student of Sarov Physics and Technology Institute about advance technologies in the nuclear power industry, academician Mitenkov said, in particular, that development of ionizing radiation technology in particular in medicine was the thing of the future. As for the leaders in power generation F.M. Mitenkov mentioned metallic fuel (from the point of view of long-term performance) the technologies of which would be applied soon in India, and the BN technologies in Russian research. Here Mitenkov noted that we’d managed to master the usage of sodium whereas the idea of using plumbum as a coolant had not been completely elaborated for many reasons.

 “You have new goals”, the academician addressed the students. “and you can achieve them. If there is a problem, there is the solution. If you don’t see the solution, it means that you haven’t found it yet!”

The lecture was organized within the framework of the “Energy of Knowledge” joint project of the Information Centre of the nuclear power industry and the “Global Energy” fund. The purpose of the project is to show students, postgraduates and young specialists the relevance of problems and tasks of the nuclear power industry in the future as well as potential for creative activity of the youth in the nuclear sector.

F.М. Mitenkov supervised creation of nuclear installation for such icebreakers as Arktika, Rossia, Taimyr, Sovetsky Soyuz, Vaigach, Yamal; lighter ship Sevmorput, nuclear submarines and surface ships of the Navy; the BN-350, BN-600 fast neutron reactors. He is the author and co-author of about 300 publication and reports and more than 40 inventions. Hero of socialist labor, Laureate of Lenin Prize and Sate Prizes of the USSR and the Russian Federation, laureate of “Global Energy” prestigious international energy prize. ENS Honoris Member.