with Luka Snoj,
Head of Reactor Physics division, Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia
Full professor, Ljubljana University
Adjunct professor, Virginia Tech

November 7, 2025, 10:00 am
Goodwin Hall Room 440 (Blacksburg)
6-051, VTRC, Arlington

Webinar registration

The Jožef Stefan Institute operates a TRIGA Mark II research reactor that has supported education, training and research since 1966. The facility is a low-power, versatile platform (250 kW steady-state with short-pulse capability) used for hands-on education and training, nuclear-instrumentation testing, radiation-hardness testing, radiolytic chemistry, and reactor-physics benchmark experiments. JSI conducts benchmark experiments that remain relevant for validation of modern reactor-physics codes and nuclear-data evaluation. Representative activities include reaction-rate profiling, reactor-kinetics studies, burn-up experiments, and contributions to international benchmark compilations such as the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) and the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP), both coordinated by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency.

The second part of the talk places JSI’s operational experience in the context of emerging priorities for next-generation research reactors, including small modular reactors and fusion test facilities. Recent national and international studies identify the need for higher-performance, more flexible irradiation platforms, improved in-core instrumentation, and multipurpose designs that support advanced Multiphysics experiments while preserving education and training missions. In the end the recently initiated project to build a new reactor VERONICA- Versatile European Reactor for Neutron Irradiation and Nuclear Research will be presented and opportunities for collaboration.