Research & Development

NEXT Lab

Pushing the Bounds of What’s Next

NEXT Lab has been an Abilene staple since 2016.

Abilene Christian University’s NEXT Lab, short for Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory, is a state-of-the-art facility where students and experts can safely explore possibilities with nuclear energy. The NEXT lab is located on the campus of Abilene Christian University and is home to machine shops, research labs, and numerous high-bay research areas. NEXT Lab’s mission is to uncover solutions to the global need for water, energy, and medical isotopes. In this facility, students work alongside senior physicists and engineers to develop innovations using nuclear reactors and in some cases, even acquire patents for innovative tools to monitor molten salt flow. The experience provided by NEXT Lab empowers students to excel in their field, like this graduate awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship. With Abilene’s commitment of $2.93 million to the further expansion of NEXT Lab’s R&D efforts, the research & development center is poised to bring safe, clean and inexpensive energy into the 21st century.