Nuclear Science User Facilities 22 Elizabeth Getto For Elizabeth Getto, a mechan- ical engineering assistant professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, Rapid Turnaround Experi- ments (RTEs) funded through the Nuclear Science User Facilities have been essential to research that she and her colleagues would otherwise not have the resources to pursue. Based on research funded in 2017, the first RTE of three, Getto was the lead researcher on a paper published in the December issue of Journal of Nuclear Materials detailing the effect of friction stir welding and self-ion irradiation on dispersoid evolution in oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel. To ensure the safety and reliability of small modular reactors, micro- structural characterization of the irradiated materials is essential, she wrote. But neutron irradia- tions are costly, time-consuming, and typically require hot cells for materials examination. Utilizing ion irradiation as a surrogate mitigates many of the challenges associated with neutron irradiation testing, and self-ion irradiations allow for accelerated irradiation testing with well-controlled temperature, pres- sure, and dose in candidate struc- tural materials. Getto said the advantage of working through NSUF is that the funding is taken care of, allowing her to focus on the research. “As a new professor at an undergraduate institution, $50,000 means an awful lot to me,” she said. Her focus has been on the effects of radiation and welding on oxide dispersion strengthened steels, specifically on MA956 ODS alloy, a friction-welded iron-based superalloy that is in relatively short supply. ODS steels are commonly used in reactor vessels. Ultimately, the research will help engineers understand how long a reactor can be run before adverse conditions in the other structural materials need to be addressed. The experiments detailed in the Journal of Nuclear Materials were to determine systematically the effect of welding and irradiation on ODS steel MA956 at reactor-relevant conditions of 450 degrees Celsius up to 25 displacements per atom (dpa). They found that friction stir welding resulted in the coarsening of the dispersoids relative to the base material, implying that it recovers