Materials selection for nuclear applications: Challenges and opportunities

We discuss the challenge of selecting materials for nuclear applications and outline the need for comprehensive databases to assist scientists and engineers in choosing materials that meet interdependent physical, chemical, and nuclear criteria. In conventional engineering, chemical and physical properties and the electronic structure of materials are typically the primary considerations; nuclear applications must also consider the nuclear physics characteristics of a material. Development of databases that correlate physical, chemical, and nuclear properties would accelerate and facilitate innovations in nuclear design.