University of Missouri officials have signed a ceremonial agreement to partner with a consortium to build a new 20-megawatt state-of-the-art research reactor near south Columbia’s Discovery Ridge.
The new reactor will be known as NextGen MURR. Former Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, who now serves on the UM Board of Curators, says this project will build on the current MURR at Mizzou, which is the only U.S. producer of four medical isotopes used in treatments for liver, thyroid, pancreatic and prostate cancer:
“We need to be able to, with this new one, continue that kind of research and hopefully find cures for cancer. Expand it to other cancers, as (UM System) President (Mun) Choi indicated here,” Curator Luetkemeyer tells 939 the Eagle News.
UM System President Dr. Mun Choi says this is a historic moment for Mizzou, our state and the future of nuclear science and medicine.
The UM Board of Curators chair praises the new ceremonial agreement that was signed Wednesday at Jesse Hall on the Mizzou campus. President Choi says NextGen MURR will allow Mizzou to lead the nation in producing critical medical isotopes. UM Board of Curators chair Todd Graves of Platte City agrees, telling 939 the Eagle News that NextGen MURR is an engine of progress:
“A great university has to do world-class research. And this particular field, nuclear medicine, we are in the lead lap of all universities in the country. It further enhances our brand and it provides a tremendous economic development boost for (the) entire mid-Missouri and Missouri region,” Chairman Graves says.
The initial agreement with the consortium covers the design studies phase to develop the roadmap for the new reactor, which is expected to take eight to ten years to complete. Mizzou is partnering with a consortium that includes Hyundai Engineering America and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) for the design and licensing of the new reactor.
Mizzou officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month for the $20-million three-story expansion of the current MU Research Reactor (MURR), which is near Providence in Columbia. The current MURR was built in 1966.
