Faculty Highlights
Benjamin Fransen: Ending 70 Years of Uncertainty
The focus of one of Dr. Benjamin Frandsen’s research projects is a seemingly bizarre type of salt called FLiNaK (pronounced FLY-nack). Frandsen has been investigating FLiNaK since his arrival in the Department of Physics and Astronomy four years ago when a casual chat session between him and Dr. Matthew Memmott blossomed into a ground- breaking collaboration in connection with chemical engineering assistant professor Dr. Stella Nickerson.
The research team’s goal was to study FLiNaK on a “very detailed atomic level” to use it in molten salt reactors, an alternative nuclear reactor design concept that has many advantages over the designs most commonly used today. All three team members brought their unique skills to the project. With Frandsen’s expertise in neutron scattering, Memmott’s skill in examining the macroscopic properties of salts, and Nickerson’s efficiency in creating simulations, the team set out to ascertain the structure of the molten salt.
First, Memmott created a high-purity sample of FLiNaK using techniques he has been developing over the last few years. Next, he passed the sample on to Frandsen and his graduate student Raju Baral to test it at a specialized neutron scattering facility. Meanwhile, Nickerson was responsible for constructing a simulation that could both predict and explain the observed results. Together, they have revitalized FLiNaK, which first came under study in the 1950s. After pinning down the exact structure of the molten salt, the doors have flung open for FLiNaK’s commercial use in molten salt reactors for electricity generation and medical applications such as the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Frandsen estimates that the commercialization of FLiNaK could happen within the decade.
For Frandsen, the significance of this research does not lie solely in the impact FLiNaK can have on the world. In fact, there are two significant accomplishments that bear mentioning. First, Frandsen and Baral had the gratifying opportunity to perform neutron scattering experiments on the sample at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee, where molten salt reactors were first in- vented. When asked about his experience researching in the historic lab, Frandsen said that he marveled at the opportunity he had “to go to these facilities and interact with the scientists there.” It made him really appreciate the incredible technology that allows these experiments to be done since not everyone with a re- search project is allowed to perform experiments in the Oak Ridge National Lab. The screening process is rigorous. After researchers submit their proposals, for ex- ample, a committee reviews them to select only those that “demonstrate [a] very valuable scientific objective,” Frandsen noted.
Second, the team’s research project was an exhilarating experience because the contributions from the three faculty members fit together so seamlessly. Frandsen observed that their findings were “in excel- lent agreement” with the simulations. “You have to do a good experiment to get good data, but that’s just the start,” he said. Frandsen credits the results of the project to the relationships he developed with Memmott and Nickerson. “I think it was just a matter of getting the right people together at the right time so that [we] could collaborate and make progress together.”
All three members of the team look forward to continuing this collaboration in the future. With the assistance of federal funding, they hope to accomplish three things: study the structure of FLiNaK with nuclear fuel, find ways to remove the fission products resulting from the reaction, and discover the structure of more salts that might be even better to use than FLiNaK.
Frandsen firmly believes that the collaboration be- tween Memmott, Nickerson, and himself is what led to the discovery of FLiNaK’s exact structure. Though the success in the team’s research results is satisfying in and of itself, Frandsen will long remember the col- leagues he worked with the most. “I feel that BYU re- ally is an excellent place to work with people who are experts in their field,” Frandsen said. Without doubt, a great team mixed with Frandsen’s fascination of FLiNaK has resulted in a recipe for success.
By Kanae Lee
Perpetua Lynne Nielsen: Making a Better World for Women
Dr. Perpetua Lynne Nielsen in the Department of Statistics recently co-authored The First Political Order: How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide. The book is the culmination of years of research into how governments around the world promote treatment of women and their correlating national success.
The book explores the outcomes of laws and systems rooted in unjust practices and suggests what the international community can do to promote fair treatment toward women. For example, governments can enact laws that improve the rights of women such as allowing women to inherit, sell, and buy land. They can also enact policies mandating equitable family laws and criminalizing normalized violence against women. Documenting their findings in minute detail, Nielsen and her colleagues present a sobering reality: nations that don’t give women equal protection under the law are more unstable, insecure, corrupt, and prone to conflict. However, there is potential for national outcomes to improve when steps are taken by governments and individuals to reduce prejudiced laws and practices.
Nielsen and her co-authors, Valerie Hudson and Donna Lee Bowen, received a $1.2 million Minerva grant from the US Department of Defense in 2014 to gather the necessary data and conduct this research project (1). They examined 176 nations around the world and found that in many countries, maltreatment toward women is systematic and persistent. Nielsen’s research also shows how laws protecting women benefit all citizens including children and men. Not only has the book been praised in academic settings, it has also been highlight- ed in top news outlets.
In harmony with the gospel, Nielson believes that treating others with respect is a way to honor their eternal identity as children of God. Each member of the campus community—alumni, students, faculty, and staff—has an important role in showing respect to others through our actions. By doing so, we are doing our part to fulfill the BYU mission which states that “all relationships within the BYU community should reflect devout love of God and a loving, genuine concern for the welfare of our neighbor.”
A convert to the Church from the Philippines, Nielsen said it was a dream come true to attend BYU and to now be a professor. Before joining the BYU faculty full-time, she taught part-time at a community college in Arizona while raising her family. Nielsen served as the course lead for several key courses including Statistics 121 which serves thousands of BYU students each semester.
“Statistics is a tool to find truth with a lowercase ‘t,’” she said. “Our students need statistical literacy so when they read anything in the media, they will be able to ask questions and figure out for themselves whether they believe the claim being made.” She hopes her students can tell that she is a person who seeks truth in her life, not just academically and intellectually, but also spiritually. “I hope they know I’m trying to be Christlike, and that they feel the Spirit around me."
By Kanae Lee
1. “The WomanStats Project,” womanstats.org, accessed 15 April 2021, http://www.womanstats.org/aboutoverview.html.
Sharon Christensen: Sharing the Knowledge of Her Labors
Every year, twenty to thirty aspiring math educators from BYU spend a semester student teach- ing at one of five partnering school districts. Over the past thirty-three years, assistant teaching
professor Sharon Christensen has been involved in this rite of passage for potential teachers. Before coming to BYU in 2017, Christensen worked in public education as a junior high school teacher in the Alpine School District where she often mentored student teachers. “I love teaching math,” Christensen recounted, and her love for teaching hasn’t diminished one bit over the years.
As coordinator of the Math Education Department’s student teaching program, Christensen is in a unique position to cultivate a passion for teaching math in aspiring educators. She is currently involved in implementing an innovative model of student teaching developed by two of her colleagues, Dr. Keith Leatham and Dr. Blake Peterson. The model pairs each student teach- er with another student teacher in the classroom, and assigns them to a mentor teacher as well as a faculty advisor. The crux of this revised model is that paired student teachers can share the load of lesson preparation. This strategy improves the quality of feedback student teachers receive, enables them to craft more developed math lessons, and gives them more time to reflect on their teaching effectiveness.
Christensen marvels at how the gospel provides singular circumstances to prepare BYU students to be teachers. “We think about Christ as the master teach- er and use the strategies of His love and teachings to help our students grow and become better teachers,” she said. “I hope my BYU students see that I have a testimony, that each of their ideas is important, and that they can...share the gospel through their actions as they teach.”
As a consummate math educator, Christensen also advises math student teachers to develop their own conceptual understanding of math topics. She plays an instrumental role in assisting math education majors to create lesson plans that help their students learn how to discuss mathematics. She firmly believes that creating an environment where students naturally want to talk about mathematics helps them to become better learners. Christensen has consistently found that the more teachers experience math, the better they will understand how their students are processing math concepts.
For Christensen, the knowledge we are all children of our Heavenly Father with divine potential aids teach- ing, even in subjects like mathematics. “I hope our BYU students take into their own classrooms the belief that everyone can learn and do mathematics and that every child is important. I especially hope they learn strate- gies here that help them share that knowledge with their students.”
By Kanae Lee and Eden Garcia
