Oregon State University has been selected to lead a national research center focused on making electronics more resilient to radiation, which could strengthen national security and boost U.S. competitiveness in space and defense technologies.
The new Center for Advancing Radiation Resilience of Electronics, backed by a $17 million award from the National Nuclear Security Administration's Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program, brings together six universities to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in modern electronics: enabling critical components to withstand the harsh radiation conditions encountered in space and other environments.
Partner institutions include the Vanderbilt University; the University of California San Diego, North Carolina State University, University of California, Berkeley; Seattle University; and the University of Notre Dame.
"This is a meaningful achievement for Oregon State and a proud moment for our research community," said the center's director, Todd Palmer, distinguished professor in the College of Engineering's School of Nuclear Science and Engineering. "Being selected twice to host a PSAAP center places us alongside institutions that have had multiple PSAAP centers like Stanford, MIT and University of Texas at Austin. It's a reflection of the continued dedication, hard work and collaborative spirit of our team."
The center, abbreviated to CARRE, will develop cutting-edge simulation tools that enable engineers to predict the performance of electronic components when exposed to radiation. Results from these tools will provide engineers with new insights that reduce the need for costly and time-consuming radiation effects experiments, supporting the design of more resilient systems for satellites, spacecraft, missiles, self-driving vehicles and data centers.
The center's work is especially timely given the growing demand for resilient electronics in space and defense applications, Palmer said.
"Off-the-shelf components are attractive because they're affordable and readily available, but they're not always built to survive radiation environments," he said. "Our simulations will help designers and engineers make smarter choices and build in protections where needed."
CARRE builds on Oregon State's previous success with the National Nuclear Security Administration-awarded Center for Exascale Monte Carlo Neutron Transport, which developed software for dynamic neutron transport simulations. The new center has a different scope but will expand those capabilities to model a wider range of radiation environments and effects, performing irradiation experiments and even launching a satellite to gather real-world data from space.
"This isn't just about research, it's about impact," Palmer said. "We're training the next generation of scientists and engineers who will shape the future of national labs and high-performance computing."
