The Center for Material Science of Nuclear Fuel (A 'Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research' contest entry from the 2011 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) Summit and Forum)

'The Center for Material Science of Nuclear Fuel (CMSNF)' was submitted by the CMSNF to the 'Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research' video contest at the 2011 Science for Our Nation's Energy Future: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) Summit and Forum. Twenty-six EFRCs created short videos to highlight their mission and their work. CMSNF, an EFRC directed by Todd Allen at the Idaho National Laboratory is a partnership of scientists from six institutions: INL (lead), Colorado School of Mines, University of Florida, Florida State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The Office of Basic Energy Sciences in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science established the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) in 2009. These collaboratively-organized centers conduct fundamental research focused on 'grand challenges' and use-inspired 'basic research needs' recently identified in major strategic planning efforts by the scientific community. The overall purpose is to accelerate scientific progress toward meeting the nation's critical energy challenges. The mission of the Center for Materials Science of Nuclear Fuels is 'to achieve a first-principles based understanding of the effect of irradiation-induced defects and microstructures on thermal transport in oxide nuclear fuels.' Research topics are: phonons, thermal conductivity, nuclear, extreme environment, radiation effects, defects, and matter by design.