Webinars 2023-2024

Christophe Demazière earned his PhD in reactor physics in 2002 and is now full professor at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden. He is responsible for the research and teaching activities in computational nuclear reactor physics at Chalmers. The research group gathers a cross-disciplinary expertise in neutron transport, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and numerical methods. The aim of the group is to develop beyond state-of-the-art techniques for modelling nuclear reactors, thus contributing to improved simulations tools and enhanced safety.

Prof. Demazière is lecturing in courses on the physics and modelling of nuclear reactors. He has authored a book on the “Modelling of Nuclear Reactor Multi-physics - From Local Balance Equations to Macroscopic Models in Neutronics and Thermal-Hydraulics”. For the past ten years, he has been developing and implementing innovative pedagogical methods (flipped classroom, active learning, hybrid teaching and online teaching) in all his teaching activities, with the purpose of improving student learning and the learning experience. For that purpose, the effects of the teaching reforms are systematically analyzed and evaluated. Since 2020, he is the acting coordinator of the Horizon 2020 GRE@T-PIONEeR project.

He is a member of the American Nuclear Society.

Juan José Gómez Rodríguez is currently completing his master's degree in nuclear engineering at the University of Pisa, Italy. He is currently engaged in research at the Technical University of Dresden, working on his master's thesis in the field of reactor physics, specifically focusing on the determination of integral cross section data for various materials using the pile oscillation method at the training reactor AKR-2. Prior to his master's studies, Juan completed his bachelor's degree at the National University of Colombia in Bogotá. During his undergraduate studies, he conducted research and authored two articles in the field of electromagnetic methods in geophysics, exploring their potential applications for earthquake forecasting. Furthermore, Juan gained experience by working for two years at the primary research center that owns the only nuclear research reactor in his home country, the Colombian Geological Survey. In the past year, he completed a six-month internship at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation, during this time, he focused on topics related to nuclear safeguards for innovative and evolutionary reactor designs and the social perception of nuclear energy.

In his involvement with the EU-GRE@TPIONEeR> project, Juan has successfully completed four courses, including the onsite course of neutron transport at fuel cell and assembly levels, hands-on training in the TU Dresden reactor, and online courses on core modeling for core design and radiation protection in nuclear environment. He actively encourages his colleagues to partake in these extracurricular training opportunities due to the numerous benefits they offer and their potential to complement their future careers as scientists.

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Webinar by Luca Oriani and Julie Gorgemans
on Friday October 13, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Oriani Gorgemans with Picture

Dr. Luca Oriani has held the position of Global Chief Engineering Services Officer and Senior Vice President for Engineering Services for Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, since June of 2019. He is responsible for Westinghouse plant and component engineering competencies, methods, tools and assets for both operating and new plants, including Westinghouse engineering personnel at over 20 main global locations. Previously, Dr. Oriani has held a number of roles for Westinghouse, starting in advanced reactors research and technology in 2002. During his career at Westinghouse, Dr Oriani has been responsible for development of advanced safety analyses methodologies and their licensing and applications in the US and Europe, and between 2013 and 2016 has covered different roles in the completion of the design and completion of the first AP1000 units in China and then the US. Since 2016, Dr. Oriani had responsibility for engineering all Westinghouse new plant projects. His career has been devoted primarily to the development of advanced nuclear systems and advanced safety solutions for nuclear power plants, and he is the author of more than 50 technical papers and reports on these subjects. Dr Oriani is a graduate of the Polytechnic Institute of Milan, Italy, and a fellow of the 1st World Nuclear University Summer Institute.

EDUCATION:
5-year Laurea (M.S.) in Nuclear Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Milan, 1997
Doctorate in Nuclear Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Milan, 2001

Julie Gorgemans joined Westinghouse in 2005, developing nuclear systems solutions in support to safety improvement projects and power uprating programs on European pressurized water reactors. She then joined the Westinghouse new plant division in 2008 which she supported until 2017, working on the development and International deployment of the AP1000 plant. During these years, Julie worked on the finalization of the AP1000 passive safety systems, contributed to several proposal developments for European customers, and spent four years in the UK working on the Generic Design Assessment of the AP1000 plant by the UK safety authorities and the development of the AP1000 Moorside project. From 2017 until early 2021, she focused on the support to European pressurized water reactor customers as a product manager for the nuclear island engineering services, with a focus on long term operation. In 2021, she returned to support Westinghouse new plant division and provides technical leadership for new plant business and bid proposal development in Europe. She recently became Senior Project Engineering Manager as she took on the additional role of leading the AP300 design development program.

EDUCATION:
M.S. degree in Physics Engineering, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 2005
M.S. degree in Business Administration (MBA), University of Manchester, 2019

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Webinar by Claudia Gasparrini on Friday October 20, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Gasparrini with Picture

Claudia Gasparrini is a nuclear materials scientist and Chair of the Italian Nuclear Young Generation (gathering under 40 professionals and students affiliated to Associazione Italiana Nucleare). Academic Visitor in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London she was a Business Development Manager in RINA and previously a researcher and fellow at Consorzio RFX where she worked on materials performance in nuclear fusion systems thanks to a EUROfusion Engineering Grant linked to the Divertor Tokamak Test and ITER Neutral Beam Test Facilities . Previously she worked as a Research Associate at Imperial College London investigating neutron irradiation embrittlement of nuclear reactors pressure vessel steels in collaboration with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Australia and the UKAEA Materials Research Facility (MRF), UK. She obtained a PhD in Nuclear Materials and Ceramics from Imperial College London focusing on oxidation of non-oxide nuclear fuels in collaboration with National Nuclear Laboratory, UK, Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) Cadarache and Institut de Chimie Séparative de Marcoule, France. She worked in Japan as a Decommissioning Engineer intern for the UK ABWR in Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd. She holds a BSc and MSc in Chemical and Process Engineering from Padua University, Italy specialising in Nuclear Chemistry and Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Sweden.

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Webinar by Mihaela Bacalum on Friday October 27, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Bacalum with Picture

Mihaela Bacalum has over 15 years of experience in cellular biophysics and biology gained working in the Department of Life and Environmental Physics from Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH). In 2009 she got a M.Sc. in Neurobiology and in 2013 a Ph.D. in Biophysics and Biomedical Sciences. Her areas of expertise include lipid membrane interactions, evaluation of antimicrobial compounds efficiency in vitro, evaluation of anticancer compounds efficiency in vitro against 2D and 3D (spheroids) cell cultures, and in vitro cellular radiobiology of cells treated with low energy proton beams. She is the author of more than 50 articles and over 60 international communications. She is a scientific advisor of more than 20 undergraduate and master students and 3 PhD students. Presently she is the Head of Department of Life and Environmental Physics from Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH).

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Webinar by Ahmed Bentaib on Friday November 3, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Bentaib with Picture 2

Ahmed Bentaib is an expert on nuclear safety in IRSN since 2000. He received his Ph.D. from Lyon University in 1993 and the Accreditation Diploma to Supervise Research (HDR), from the University of Orléans in 2020.

His research interests cover Severe Accidents, modeling of hydrogen dispersion, mitigation and combustion phenomena pertinent to safety of nuclear and industrial facilities. As a result of his research, he is published more than 100 papers in refereed journal and international conferences.

During his career, Ahmed BENTAIB has contributed to several national, European, OECD and IAEA projects. After more than 20 years of professional career, he is Vice-Chair of the OECD-NEA Working Group on Analysis and Management of Accidents (WGAMA), co-leader of the Technical Area 2 on Severe Accidents of NUGENIA and Chair of the ETSON expert group on severe accident.

Along his career, Ahmed BENTAIB has collaborated in universities, and presently he is lecturer in masters’ courses related to nuclear safety.

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Webinar by Luca Ferrante on Friday November 10, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Ferrante with Picture

Luca Ferrante graduated from the University of Bologna in Civil Engineering and has over 15 years of experience in management and construction of NPP. His experience in nuclear power began at MO34 for the refurbishment and completion project of the 2 VVER440 (1.654 MW tot), managing the engineering of the convection and the nuclear island and then creating the turnover process of the buildings and the relate systems to commissioning team in order to begin the commissioning and future operations. Luca Ferrante is currently working as a Senior Project Manager for Bylor, (JV between Bouygues TP and Laing O`Rourke), for the construction of 2 EPR at HPC Hinkley Point C (3.2 GW). At HPC has been involved in the manufacturing and assembly of the PTLS scope (pools, tanks, containment liner and sumps) across the 2 units for the Nuclear Island and since the 2021 is in charge of delivery of the HLs safety building, managing the civil works and the coordination of MEH installation. In parallel, Luca is actively involved with Bologna and Roma University running workshops regarding Nuclear Quality and Management of Nuclear construction.

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Webinar by Gianfranco Caruso on Friday November 17, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Caruso with Picture 1

Gianfranco Caruso is Full Professor in Nuclear Engineering at Sapienza, University of Rome. He received his MS degree in Nuclear Engineering in 1984 and earned his PhD in Energy in 1989, focusing on severe accidents in nuclear plants. He is a member of the Scientific Council of ICHMT and representative member of Sapienza in the Governing Board of CIRTEN. Prof. Caruso is a member of the “National Commission for the Forecasting and Prevention of Major Risks" of the Department of Civil Protection – nuclear and radiological risk subcommittee. He is currently leader of the Sapienza “Nuclear Engineering Research Group” in ongoing national and international projects related to nuclear topics and the reference person for Sapienza research activities in the framework of the EUROFUSION project. His research interests include: advanced heat transfer and thermal-hydraulics in fission and fusion nuclear plants; nuclear safety, magneto-hydrodynamics; two-phases heat transfer and flow; design of components and systems for energy production plants.

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Webinar by Frédéric Plas on Friday November 24, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Plas with Picture

Frédéric Plas is civil engineer in applied geosciences with a higher education diploma in mechanics and hydraulics, Mr. Plas began his career in the 1980s at the CEA in a research laboratory on material for radioactive waste disposal. He joined Andra, the French national agency for radwaste management, in the 1990s in the scientific division. Since more than 30 years, various managing positions allowed Frédéric Plas to become an expert in deep geological disposal of radwaste and radwaste management in general, covering different areas: design concept, safety assessment and Performance Assessment, a wide range of scientific disciplines (geosciences, materials sciences, radiochemistry, applied mathematics...), Spent fuel cycle and radwaste conditioning.

Head of the Research and Development Division of Andra during 10 years since 2022, he is now the head of the Cigéo program division in charge of instruction of Construction licensing application of Cigéo projet (industrial center for geological disposal of most radioactive radwaste), and the programmatic and technical authority for the development of Cigéo projet.

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Webinar by Han Gyu Joo on Friday December 1, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Joo with Picture 2

Dr. Han Gyu Joo has been serving as the President of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) since December 2022. He is on leave from his professorship at Seoul National University where he had served as a Professor of Nuclear Engineering for 18 years. He got his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue in 1996. During his 4 and half year stay at Purdue including the postdoc period, he developed the initial version of the PARCS (Purdue Advanced Reactor Core Simulator) code which is now being used worldwide through the NRC framework. After returning to KAERI, he led the development of a Numerical Nuclear Reactor based on the DeCART direct whole core calculation code. After moving to SNU in 2004, he broadened his expertise in computational reactor physics and developed many neutronics codes as well as a core thermal hydraulics code with his students. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society in 2015. He is also an inducted member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea.

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Webinar by Jacopo Buongiorno on Friday December 15, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Buongiorno with Picture

Jacopo Buongiorno is the TEPCO Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Director of the Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems (CANES), and the Director of Science and Technology of the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. He has published over 100 journal articles in the areas of reactor safety and design, two-phase flow and heat transfer, and nanofluid technology. For his research work and teaching he won several awards, among which recently the 2022 ANS Presidential Citation. Jacopo is a consultant for the nuclear industry in the area of reactor thermal-hydraulics, and a member of the Accrediting Board of the National Academy of Nuclear Training. He is also a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, a Fellow of the NUclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH) conference, a member of the ASME, past member of the Naval Studies Board (2017-2019), and a participant in the Defense Science Study Group (2014-2015).

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Webinar by Stefano Monti on Friday December 22, 2023 at 15:00

Leaflet Monti with Picture

Stefano Monti is currently President of the Italian Nuclear Association and Director of Research at ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development. From May 2011 to November 2022, he was Head of the Nuclear Power Technology Development Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Before joining the IAEA, he was Head of the Division Reactor and Fuel Cycle Safety and Security Methods of ENEA and from 2007 to 2013 President of SIET, a world leader company in the experimental tests for the development, testing, qualification and certification of systems and components for the nuclear industry.

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Webinar by Yves Desbazeille on Friday January 12, 2024 at 15:00

Leaflet Desbazeille with Picture new

Yves Desbazeille – Director General, nucleareurope

Yves Desbazeille is French and graduated in electrical engineering from the Ecole Supérieure d’Electricité (“SUPELEC”) in France in 1991 and studied on an MBA program in the early 2000s. During his successful career, he has been involved in different businesses and responsibilities at EDF: nuclear engineering, hydro and thermal power projects management in France, USA as well as in Asia, where he was for 5 years. His previous position as EDF representative for energy in Brussels has provided him with an in-depth knowledge of the EU institutions and Brussels’ stakeholders and of the energy and climate stakes for Europe.

nucleareurope is the Brussels-based trade association for the nuclear energy industry in Europe. nucleareurope acts as the voice of the European nuclear industry in energy policy discussions with EU institutions and other key stakeholders. The membership of nucleareurope is made up of 15 national nuclear associations.

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Webinar by Jeff Lane on Friday January 19, 2024 at 15:00

WORK IN PROGRESS – IC A. Lorenzetti