- This event has passed.
Search for Associate Professor, Nuclear Engineering: Peter Keech
The Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry is pleased to host a special research and teaching seminar by Peter Keech on Tuesday March 10th and Wednesday March 11th, respectively, in WB-215 and/or virtually on teams.
Please see the full details below:
RESEARCH SEMINAR: March 10th from 10:00 – 11:00 am (WB-215 or on MS Teams)
Title: R&D Supporting Geological Disposal of Canada’s Nuclear Waste
Abstract:
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is responsible for the planning, construction and operation of Canada’s deep geological repository (DGR) for used nuclear fuel. Over the past fifteen year, concurrent with a site-selection process to identify a suitable location for the DGR, the NWMO has been intensely developing the technical solutions required to isolate the used nuclear fuel from people and the environment for up to one million years. Within the DGR, the environment will evolve from warm, dry and slightly oxidizing conditions to wet, reducing conditions as groundwater saturates the bentonite sealing system.
In preparation of the regulatory activities associated with constructing and operating the facility, the NWMO has developed a robust research program to refine the understanding of all ageing processes that may occur.
- For bentonite, this includes: possible changes from heating as a result of radioactive decay of the used nuclear fuel; effects of microbiology within the clay; and chemical/physical changes as a result of the interaction with groundwater as it moves from the host rock.
- For the used fuel container, degradation includes corrosion via: humid air; radiolysis products of gamma radiation; porewater as it enters a repository, and microbiological influences, but also the recent emphasis on aspects of localized corrosion and modeling.
Over time, studies have increasingly included both container materials and bentonite as part of their design to ensure synergistic effects are not missed.
As the NWMO moves forward, having selected the site in the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and Ignace township region of Northwestern Ontario, future research will shift toward a site-specific condition, but will remain challenging.
Joining Virtually?
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/28322237195948?p=xoOrQTB02UsGVxPgaV
Meeting ID: 283 222 371 959 48
Passcode: X4DG3eJ2
Dial in by phone
+1 647-794-1609,,852427559# Canada, Toronto
Phone conference ID: 852 427 559#
For organizers: Meeting options | Reset dial-in PIN
TEACHING SEMINAR: March 11th from 10:00 – 11:00 am (WB-215 or on MS Teams)
Title: CHE441 Engineering Materials “Principles of Corrosion
Joining Virtually?
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/29093544755795?p=MN2nYpEGisB91uT4Kx
Meeting ID: 290 935 447 557 95
Passcode: dM2NC7bE
Dial in by phone
+1 647-794-1609,,30977875# Canada, Toronto
Phone conference ID: 309 778 75#
For organizers: Meeting options | Reset dial-in PIN
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY:
Peter Keech, Ph.D. Chemistry, is Manager of Engineered Barrier Science at the NWMO where he works to advance the understanding of the container and sealing system that will be used in the deep geological repository for used nuclear materials. He has been in this role since 2015, after starting at NWMO as a Senior Scientist and corrosion specialist in 2011, following his postdoctoral studies on corrosion of Candu fuel and reactor components, as well as high-level nuclear waste packages. Through work with universities, national laboratories and international partner organizations, he has over one hundred and twenty publications, including more than eighty-five peer-reviewed journal articles and three book chapters related to chemistry, nuclear waste, corrosion, microbiology and clay. He is currently an adjunct professor at York University and the University of Toronto in Engineering programs.
Dr. Keech acts as the liaison for the NWMO with international partner organizations and has championed the NWMO in developing more than a dozen collaboration agreements/memoranda of understanding to exchange information, co-sponsor projects and oversee secondment opportunities. He regularly presents both technical and non-technical information directly to partners and other stakeholders. He is often an invited keynote speaker, especially at partners’ strategic external events. He provides technical review for several organizations and recently served as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for NUMO of Japan. Within the NWMO and on behalf of its academic research community, Dr. Keech co-chairs the committee on Indigenous Knowledge with Western Science within NWMO’s Strategic Initiatives group. He has organized and co-chaired workshops for a wide range of participants, including professors and graduate students, as well as Indigenous youth and Elders, to broaden perspectives and meaningfully contribute to reconciliation. Dr. Keech was born in Orillia, Canada.