ACU now a national research university

There is a huge difference in what is actually valid research leading to a Ph.D. versus just awarding doctoral degrees for attending classes. There is a huge difference in publishing in tier one refereed research journals and just reading a paper at a local meeting. Defending new research in front of your peers is a true test of value. I've known some rather weak schools who award advanced degrees but they don't have national or international credentials for contributing to new knowledge. ACU does. It should be an R2 national research university but that will take time.

There was a time when I used to establish national honor society chapters in universities and while technically meeting the credentialling requirements, it was rather difficult to serve one of our national societies by agreeing to award honor society status to those schools. But it was a duty as a Board Member of my field's society. I was glad when my term ended... Amoung the certifications I had to do, probably a dozen universities met the barest of the minimum requirements -- and most of them then backed up and no longer maintained their low status, but they were never decertified. For some reason that is almost never done, except in engineering, and then only very rarely and after remedial opportunity is granted.

When ACU's engineering program was certified, there was not one single recommendation for improvement. Further, the time for its next review was one of the maximums I have ever heard of.

You know when you are for real when you receive large research grants and third party funding and ACU has been doing that for well over 50 years. You know you are doing something good when the Annual Reviews of the Royal Society specifically cites a published paper from ACU. Or when our national labs openly state some of their research specifically relied on the work of ACU researchers. That has happened for ACU. As well, one of the Big 12 universities appointed an ACU professor as an adjunct just so they could list their publications and grants in order to improve their standing -- yes that has happened as well -- I know about that personally. I get a bit defensive when compared to so many other universities. ACU is truly different and getting more so all the time.

In Abilene. Is the excavation in the intramural fields near the old Taylor Elementary SERC?

Excellent!

Just published, a super important announcement that ACU has signed an agreement with Teledyne Brown to build the first molten salt generation four nuclear reactor in Abilene. This will resonate around the world. It will be the safest and cleanest reactor ever conceived. We are now truly big time. I told Phil Schubert he was doing a great job and heading up a mini-Ivy league university.


www.ans.org/news/article-4159/abilene-christian-teledyne-brown-sign-contract-for-molten-salt-research-reactor/

Abilene Christian’s NEXT Lab applies for MSRR construction permit
The Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Laboratory at Abilene Christian University in Texas submitted a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its molten salt research reactor (MSRR) on August 15. According to ACU, the move represents the first application for a new U.S. research reactor of any kind in more than 30 years, as well as the first-ever university application for an advanced research reactor.

Link to story

I was reading an article in National Geographic concerning energy production and carbon emissions in India which is highly reliant on coal. As the developing world tries to raise its standard of living, the need for energy is going to increase with a parallel increase in carbon production. Would the liquid salt cooled reactors because of their relatively small size and safety be an answer for the developing world? I do medical missions in Zambia. The villages we go to are dark at night and have hand pump wells if they are lucky.