Pitch Your Generation IV Research Competition 2025

Dr. Hannah Patenaude is a Director's Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Inorganic, Isotope, and Actinide Chemistry group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. As a recent graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Radiochemistry Program, Hannah is experienced in actinide chemistry, specifically electrochemical processes, thermophysical properties measurements, and materials science techniques with an emphasis on molten salt systems to support the safe, secure deployment of Molten Salt Reactors. Outside of the laboratory, Hannah is active in public policy and studies the rhetoric and public perceptions of nuclear technology. She is active in organizations like the American Nuclear Society, serving on the Executive Committee of the Fuel Cycle & Waste Management Division and as the Vice Chair for the Trinity Section. Hannah spends her free time with her dog, Clementine - named after a LANL Manhattan Project era nuclear reactor - who provided support in Hannah’s 2025 Pitch Your Gen IV Research video.

Mr. Paul Baret is a third-year PhD student in materials science (metallurgy) at the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and the MATEIS laboratory at INSA Lyon. He holds an engineering degree (MSc) in Materials and Processing from the ENI-Metz engineering school at the Université de Lorraine in France. Mr. Baret’s research focuses on the design of advanced austenitic oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steels for nuclear fuel cladding in fast sodium reactors (SFRs). His experience includes the optimisation of various mechanical alloying routes, which led to a patent, as well as the microstructural and mechanical characterisation of the material from powders to bulk, including Post-Irradiation Examination (PIE). Nanoscale microstructural features, such as precipitates and cavities resulting from radiation-induced swelling, have been extensively investigated using in-situ small-angle X-ray scattering, atom probe tomography, and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy.

Mr. Dorian Da Cunha is a third year PhD candidate. He holds a master of science in Physical Engineering and Embedded Systems with a major in Nuclear Engineering and Energy from the ENSICAEN as well as a master’s degree in Experimental Nuclear Physics from the University of Caen Normandie. Prior to commencing his PhD, Dorian’s background includes a role as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Helsinki Accelerator Laboratory. Then, he was involved in the design of chain-reaction control devices for Molten-Salt Reactors at the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). His current research focuses on the interpretation and analysis of decay heat experiments in fast neutron reactors. He is developing new methodologies for interpreting these experiments and comparing them to computed values in order to validate CEA Scientific Calculation Tools. This work is being carried out in the Research Institute on Nuclear Systems for a Low Carbon Energy Production at CEA in partnership with Aix-Marseille University.

Dr Da Cunha successfully defended his thesis on the 26th of September 2025.