Nuclear Energy Research Facility Underway in West Texas

Written By: Texas Architect Magazine

Date: May 5, 2023

Nuclear Energy Research Facility Underway in West Texas cover image

(Feature image courtesy of Linbeck Group)

FROM TEXAS ARCHITECT MAGAZINE

In late June, West Texas will get a shiny new tool in its holster: a research facility designed to house a next-generation molten salt nuclear research reactor (MSRR). Named the Gayle and Max Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center (SERC), the new building is designed by Parkhill and located on the Abilene Christian University campus; it is a partnership between ACU’s NEXT Lab and Parkhill. Shorthand for Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory, NEXT Lab is an ACU-based research team focused on addressing the world’s demand for energy, water, and medical isotopes. 

“We’re revisiting molten salts now to see if we can make this type of reactor viable for the masses while also reaping all these other benefits,” says Parkhill project manager Brandon Young, AIA. “This building — being very visible — became something of a landmark in our eyes, because the work they’re doing is landmark-type research. It’s signifying a new frontier in clean energy.” 

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