Will F Cureton

Bio

Dr. William Cureton joined the Particle Fuel Forms group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in March 2022 and is currently a Research and Development Staff member. Dr. Cureton's primary focus is on applying advanced characterization techniques to understand the performance of irradiated nuclear fuels. His work involves performance testing of both light water reactor fuel systems and tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) coated particle fuel for advanced nuclear reactor applications. Dr. Cureton’s main contributions are in support of the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Qualification and Development program, which aims to develop the capability to produce high quality TRISO fuel for advanced reactor concepts and demonstrate its performance through irradiation testing, post irradiation examination and accident testing. Other areas of interest include applying x-ray and neutron scattering techniques at accelerator facilities (e.g, Spallation Neutron Source, Advanced Photon Source) to understand the mechanisms of irradiation performance on the atomic scale. Prior to joining ORNL, Dr. Cureton was a Research Assistant at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in Nuclear Engineering in 2021.

Publications