I am thrilled to begin the next chapter of my career with Kairos Power. I would like to return what I have received throughout my academic years at UNIST.
Min Ho Lee, a former graduate from the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UNIST has been appointed as a full-time researcher at Kairos Power LLC, a new nuclear energy technology, and engineering company, whose mission is to enable the world’s transition to clean energy, with the ultimate goal to dramatically improve people’s quality of life while protecting the environment.
The company has been racing ahead with the construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) based on advanced Generation IV nuclear energy technologies. Dr. Lee will be in charge of research, related to the design of fluid/thermal systems at Kairos Power. His term began in 2022.
Dr. Lee obtained his Ph.D. in February 2020 under the mentorship of Professor In Cheol Bang in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UNIST. During his school years at UNIST, he mainly conducted similarity analysis and testing of heat transfer characteristics. In particular, he carried out various studies on safety systems for the light water reactors (LWRs) and the sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). This involved the analysis of risk assessments for nuclear power plants under various circumstances and structured reflection for improving design processes.
Dr. Min Ho Lee, 2020 Ph.D. graduate from UNIST, is standing in front of an SMR model at UNIST.
Kairos Power LLC is a California-based company founded by three bright people, all with a tie to the University of California, Berkeley (UCB)—CEO Mike Laufer, Chief Technology Officer Ed Blandford, and Chief Nuclear Officer Per Peterson.
The company aims to transform the energy landscape in the United States by combining existing technologies in new and exciting ways, is modernizing its fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (FHR) technology for an emerging stage of commercialization. FHRs combine high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel with liquid salt coolants developed for molten salt reactors (MSRs), which were first developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Kairos Power hopes to complete U.S. licensing and initial demonstration of its reactor technology no later than 2030 and a rapid deployment thereafter.
