John Brockman

Dr. John Brockman is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Missouri and currently serves as the Associate Director of Research and Education at the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR).  Dr. Brockman’s research program is in applied radioanalytical and nuclear chemistry.  He has published over 100 journal articles on diverse topics including material science, trace element epidemiology, neutron transmutation doping, boron neutron capture therapy, and nuclear forensic research.  Dr. Brockman is part of the planning team working on the capabilities of the planned Next Generation MURR – a new, state-of-the-art reactor at MU.

The NextGen MURR, A Potential New Reactor Neutron Source For Neutron Scattering.

John Brockman, Paul Miceli, Tom Heitmann, Helmut Kaiser, and Deepak Singh,

In the last ten years four new drugs have been approved for sale in the United States and Europe that use reactor produced radioisotopes to deliver targeted cell-killing radiation to tumors.  Currently the MU Research Reactor is the sole North American producer of ⁹⁰Y, ¹³¹I, and ¹⁷⁷Lu, the active pharmaceutical ingredients in these drugs.  Development of the next wave of drugs is expected to double the radiopharmaceutical market size in the next ten years.  To meet the expected demand the University of Missouri is proposing to build NextGen MURR, a 20 MWth light-water reactor optimized for isotope production.  The reactor will operate with LEU fuel and feature a compact core with a peak thermal neutron flux of 5 – 10×10¹⁴ n/cm²/s.  The NextGen MURR is planned to operate on a schedule similar to the current MURR; 6.5 days a week, 52 weeks a year.  The community will have the opportunity to impact the NextGen MURR reactor design during 2024 – 2025 window.  The goal of this talk is to make the neutron scattering community aware of the generational opportunity to expand neutron scattering in the United States by inclusion of neutron beamlines and a cold source at NextGen MURR.  The need for expanded neutron scattering capability to remain competitive in science, engineering, and technology is supported by the multiple national reports from the American Physical Society and the Department of Energy.