Doctoral student, Fadel Nasr, was awarded an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Graduate Fellowship award.

Nasr completed his Bachelor of Science in Nuclear and Radiation Engineering at Alexandria University (Egypt). He started his doctoral degree in fall 2021 at NC State University Department of Nuclear Engineering. His faculty mentors are Drs. Yousry Azmy (Nuclear Engineering) and Ralph Smith (Mathematics).

His INL mentor will be Dr. Mauricio Tano. They will be working on the “Convergence with Numerical Model Refinement of Uncertainty Estimates for Nonlinear Models Relevant to Advanced Nuclear Reactor Systems” –

“My research will enable us to obtain a methodology to perform uncertainty quantification with nonlinear models used in nuclear systems which is essential to study the stability of natural convection in MSRs because the uncertainties in input parameters of the fluid can lead to unphysical solutions not observed in reality. This behavior is caused by the nonlinear nature of natural convection phenomenon and instabilities of the solution that are affected greatly by any perturbations in input parameters. In case of loss of flow accident (LOFA) or unprotected station blackout, natural convection cooling is the main passive safety principle used in nuclear reactors, so having a solution that is not observed due to parameters uncertainties will lead to an error in the design which will lead to a wrong assessment in case of an accident”.

The INL Graduate Fellowship Program is designed to identify exceptional talent in research areas aligned with INL’s strategic agenda to enable the current and future mission of the Department of Energy (DOE) and INL. The program, a collaboration between INL and universities, provides mentoring and financial support for outstanding students who plan to enroll in graduate degree programs. This is a triad relationship between the student, the university thesis advisor and the INL technical advisor to provide meaningful research and mentorship throughout the entire graduate program. Fadel states –

“This fellowship is a great opportunity for me because I will be working with world-class experts in nuclear science and technology. Being an intern at INL this summer, I learned a lot from people around me. It is a good step in my career to work in such an environment early”.