R

esearch programs in Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign can bebroadly classified into five areas:

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FACULTY & FACILITIES

Nuclear Power (reactor physics, thermalhydraulics, fuel cycle, radiation transport, I&C)
Plasma and Fusion (modeling, plasma-material interactions)Radiological Sciences (detectors, imaging, health physics, medical applications)
Material Science (nuclear fuels, structural materials
Risk and Policy (PRA, safety, energy, arms controls, disarmament, security)

Professors

Brent J. Heuser

Fall 2019Brent Heuser

Ling-Jian MengDavid Ruzic

Jim Stubbins

Associate Professors

Associate Head, Undergraduate Programs
Research: Nuclear materials,
nuclear fuels performance modeling,
microanalytical analysis techniques,
neutron scattering, hydrogen in metals
including Zr-based alloys for LWR
applications.
Rizwan Uddin
positron.npre.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Nuclear Engineering,
The University of Michigan, 1983; MS, Nuclear
Engineering, The University of Michigan, 1989; PhD,
Nuclear Engineering, The University of Michigan, 1990.

Ling-Jian MengDavide Curreli

Tomasz Kozlowski

Magdi Ragheb

Yang Zhang

Assistant Professors

Caleb Brooks

Angela Di Fulvio

Research: Radiation detection and imaging.
radimg.npre.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Modern Physics, University of Scienceand Technology of China, 1995; PhD, Detector Physics,
University of Southampton, United Kingdom, 2001.

David N. Ruzic

Kathryn Huff

Zahra Mohaghegh

Research Faculty/Scientist

Abel Bliss Professor of Engineering
Research: Plasma-material interactions; liquid metals
for fusion; etching and deposition for plasma processing;
EUV lithography sources; atmospheric-pressure plasmas
for cleaning, adhesion, and film deposition; magnetron
sputtering applications.
cpmi.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Physics/Applied Mathematics, Purdue
University, 1979; MA, Physics, Princeton University,
1981; PhD, Physics, Princeton University, 1984.

James F. Stubbins

Donald Biggar Willett Professor of Engineering
Research: Nuclear power; materials.
materials.npre.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Nuclear Engineering, University of Michigan, 1970; MS, Nuclear Engineering,
University of Cincinnati, 1972; PhD, Materials Science, University of Cincinnati, 1975.
Daniel Andruczyk

216 Talbot Laboratory, MC 234|

104 S. Wright St.

|

Urbana, IL 61801

Seyed Reihani

nuclear@illinois.edu | 217.333.2295 | npre.illinois.edu

Rizwan Uddin

Department Head
Research: Nuclear engineering education; virtual reality;
computational biology; nonlinear dynamical systems; reactor
thermal hydraulics and computational fluid dynamics;
homogenization techniques; nuclear reactor theory; computational
methods.
verl.npre.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Mechanical Engineering, Middle East Technical
University, 1980; MS, Nuclear Engineering, University of Illinois,
1983; PhD, Nuclear Engineering, University of Illinois, 1987.

Davide Curreli

Research: Plasma edge and PMI modeling; plasma physics andfusion.
curreli.npre.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Aerospace Engineering, University of Padua(Italy), 2004; MS, Aerospace Engineering, University of Padua(Italy), 2007; PhD, Sciences, Technologies and Measures for Space,
University of Padova (Italy), 2011.

Tomasz Kozlowski

Research: Advanced reactor designs; multi-physics modelingand simulation; nuclear power; reactor analysis methods; reactor
physics; reactor thermal-hydraulics; reactor transient and accident
analysis; verification, validation and uncertainty methods.
arts.npre.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University, 2000;
MS, Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University, 2004; PhD, Nuclear
Engineering, Purdue University, 2005; Docent Habilitation, Nuclear
Power Safety, Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), 2011.

Magdi Ragheb

Research: Nuclear power.
npre.illinois.edu/directory/profile/mragheb
Education: BS, Nuclear Engineering, University of Alexandria, 1970;
MS, Nuclear Engineering, Science Centre for Postgraduate Studies,
University of Alexandria, 1973; MS, Nuclear Engineering, Universityof Wisconsin-Madison, 1974; PhD, Nuclear Engineering/Computer
Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1978.

Yang Zhang

Research: Physics and chemistry of liquids, especially under
extreme/interfacial/non-equilibrium conditions; Accelerated
atomistic simulation methods; Neutron and X-ray experiments;
Long timescale phenomena and rare events; Soft robotics, humancompatible machines, and wearable human-enhancing devices.
zhang.engineering.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Electrical Science and Technology, University of
Science and Technology of China, 2004; PhD, Nuclear Science andEngineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010.

Caleb Brooks

Research: Advanced reactor designs; interfacial area transport;
nuclear power; reactor thermal-hydraulics; reactor transient andaccident analysis; two-phase flow and heat transfer.
mtdl.npre.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University, 2008;
MS, Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University, 2012; PhD, Nuclear
Engineering, Purdue University, 2014.

Angela Di Fulvio

Research: Neutron detection, spectroscopy, dosimetry, andimaging; Detection systems and algorithms for safeguards andnonproliferation.
npre.illinois.edu/directory/profile/difulvio
Education: BS, Electronic bioengineering, University of Pisa, Italy
2005; MS, Bioengineering, University of Pisa, Italy 2007; PhD,
Nuclear Engineering, University of Pisa, Italy, 2011.

Kathryn D. Huff

Research: Advanced reactor designs; nuclear fuel cycles; nuclear
power; multi-physics modeling and simulation; scientificcomputing.
arfc.npre.illinois.edu
Education: BA, Physics, University of Chicago, 2008; PhD,
Nuclear Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2013.

Zahra Mohaghegh

Research: Probabilistic Risk Assessment for conventional nuclear
power plants and advanced reactors.
soteria.npre.illinois.edu
Education: BS, Mechanical Engineering, Shariff University ofTechnology (Tehran, Iran), 1996; MS, Reliability Engineering,
University of Maryland, 2006; PhD, Reliability Engineering,
University of Maryland, 2007.

Daniel Andruczyk

Research: Nuclear Fusion, plasma physics, plasma diagnostics,
plasma material interactions, fusion materials.
npre.illinois.edu/directory/profile/andruczy
Education: BS, Physics, University of Queensland, 1998; BS(hons), University of Queensland, 1999; MS Plasma Physics,
University of Sydney, 2001; PhD, University of Sydney, Plasma
Physics, 2005.

Seyed A. Reihani

Research: Probabilistic physics of failure analysis; Reactive transportmodeling; Reactive surface modeling and characterizationnpre.illinois.edu/directory/profile/sreihani
Education: BSc, Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University ofTechnology (Tehran, IRAN), 1989; MSc, Mechanical Engineering,
University of Tehran (Tehran, IRAN), 1992; PhD, MechanicalEngineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 2005

nuclear@illinois.edu | 217.333.2295 | npre.illinois.edu

Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological
NPRE Laboratory Facilities
Talbot Laboratory, 104 S. Wright St.

Advanced Reactors & Fuel Cycles Group

118 Talbot, arfc.npre.illinois.edu, Katy Huff
The ARFC group seeks to advance the safety and sustainabilityof nuclear energy production through improved reactor designs,
fuel cycle strategies, and waste management techniques. In thearea of advanced reactors, our work focuses on extending current
simulation tools with features essential to advanced reactor
multiphysics. In the context of the broader nuclear fuel cycle, theARFC group emphasizes modeling, simulation, and analysis of
the global nuclear fuel cycle, with an emphasis on sustainability.
A crosscutting theme of our research is an emphasis on advancing
methods and software for computational nuclear engineering.
Accordingly, the ARFC group is proud to affiliate with the
University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing
Applications and its Blue Waters computing facility.

Functional X-ray Imaging Lab

225F Talbot, radimg.npre.illinois.edu, Ling-Jian Meng
FXIL consists of a walk-in closet equipped with four different
X-ray sources, a wide variety of X-ray imaging and spectroscopic
detectors, an optical photon imaging camera based on state-ofthe-art intensified EMCCD detectors, and potentially a regularemission tomography system integrated ion beam line. The
facility offers highly unique X-ray imaging techniques for a wide
range of biomedical imaging applications, including micro X-ray
computed tomography (CT), X-ray florescent CT (XFCT), X-ray
luminescent CT (XLCT) and nanobeam therapy. The equipment
can be used in microbiology and nano-medicine, potentially novel
bio-imaging technologies, and to monitor cancer micro-biology.

High Temperature Corrosion Lab
220, 209 Talbot, positron.npre.illinois.edu, Brent J. Heuser
A recirculating loop autoclave with load frame capability is housedin this laboratory. This system is used to simulate LWR primarycoolant conditions under applied load to study hydrothermal
corrosion and other phenomenon such as stress corrosion
cracking. A simultaneous thermal analyzer with combined
thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry functionis also part of this laboratory. A Zeiss AXIOscope A! material
microscope and Mettler Toledo analytical balance are available forpreliminary sample characterization.

High Temperature Nuclear Materials Lab
209A, B, C Talbot. materials.npre.illinois.edu, James F.
Stubbins This laboratory focuses on materials characterization

research on the effects of high temperatures, corrosive
atmospheres, mechanical loading and radiation in advanced
nuclear materials. This includes in situ creep and creep-fatigue
experiments at high temperatures, high temperature aging andexposure to controlled corrosive atmospheres, microstructure
and radiation damage evaluation using scanning, transmission,and scanning-transmission electron microscopes (SEM, TEM
and STEM) located in the Materials Research Laboratory, andmechanical property studies with micro-tensile tests using load
frames located in the AMTEL Laboratory. This laboratory isequipped with sample preparation and thermo-mechanicaltesting instruments including a mechanical polisher, vibratory
polisher, and a fume hood equipped with twin jet-polishers
for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and TEM sample
preparation, as well as high temperature gas control systems
and gas chromatography for elevated temperature materials
exposure.

Magnetron Sputtering Lab

220, 209 Talbot, positron.npre.illinois.edu, Brent J. Heuser
A reactive gas magnetron sputtering tool dedicated to the growthof thin films for nuclear applications is housed in this laboratory.
This system can deposit uranium-based compounds using reactive
gases such as oxygen and nitrogen. The sample stage can beheated to 800 C for single crystal growth. The system employs
three sputter gun for co-sputtering to achieve a wide range ofcompositions. A calibrated thickness monitor, gas flow control, anda precision leak valve are part of this system. Past projects include
mass transport studies in urania and coatings for accident tolerant
nuclear fuel.

Multiphase Thermo-fluid Dynamics Lab
11 Talbot, mtdl.npre.illinois.edu, Caleb Brooks
This laboratory performs experiments related to thermal hydraulics
and multiphase flow. Phenomena studied include boiling,condensation, critical heat flux, natural circulation, two-phase flow
instabilities, bubble dynamics, and two-phase transport. Utilizing
advanced instrumentation, data from these experiments are used inmodel development and validation of computational tools.

Soft Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Lab
220B Talbot, http://zhang.engineering.illinois.edu, Yang Zhang
The lab works on the design, manufacture, and intelligent controlof soft robots, human-compatible machines, and wearable humanenhancing devices using advanced soft materials and sensors. Thesesoft robotic devices have demonstrated promising capabilities that
could enable a wide range of unique applications not possible withtraditional robots.

nuclear@illinois.edu | 217.333.2295 | npre.illinois.edu

Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological
Radiation Detection & Imaging Lab
220C Talbot, radimg.npre.illinois.edu, Ling-Jian Meng
The Radiation Detection and Imaging Lab focuses on developing
non-invasive imaging technology for use in preclinical medical
research. Many of our current endeavors focus on developing
semiconductor Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography(SPECT) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). These
works challenge the current state of the art for spatial resolution
and system sensitivity. The use of highly pixelated CdTe detectors
has driven our work to break into a spatial resolution on the orderof 300 microns for both PET and SPECT. Our work in SPECT
has also challenged the limits of aperture sensitivity through theengineering of the compound-eye aperture.

Radiological Instrumentation Lab
225D Talbot, ril.npre.illinois.edu,
RIL focuses on research and development of new radiation
detection and instrumentation for imaging and sensing
applications. This includes the development of novel detector
technology and imaging techniques, data processing, experimental
validation, modeling, computational problem solving, andquantitative characterization of biological processes.

Socio-Technical Risk Analysis Lab
127 Talbot, soteria.npre.illinois.edu, Zahra Mohaghegh
The SoTeRiA Laboratory provides scientific and innovative
research solutions to complex and real-world problems of safety,
reliability, security, and profitability. SoTeRiA is advancing
Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) for risk-informed design
and regulation of conventional nuclear power plants andadvanced reactors by contributing to two key areas of theoreticaland methodological development: (1) spatio-temporal causal
modeling of social and physical failure mechanisms in PRA and(2) the fusion of big data analytics with PRA. The lab’s on-going
research projects on organizational risk analysis, sponsored by the
National Science Foundation (NSF); on systematic enterprise risk
management for utilities, funded by the Department of Energy(DOE); on probabilistic physics of failure analysis for Advanced
Water Cooled Reactors, supported by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA); and the projects led by the nuclear
industry can be found on the SoTeRiA Lab website.

Virtual Education & Research Lab
135 Talbot, verl.npre.illinois.edu, Rizwan Uddin
The goals of VERL span research, teaching, service and outreach.
Tools used are innovative and mostly computer-based. Fromfundamental advances in numerical methods; advanced modelingand simulation of different aspects of scientific and engineering
problems; to virtual, 3D models for training, education andoutreach; this laboratory focuses on developing and using new
methods and tools to address fundamental scientific and applied
engineering problems.
Micro/Nano Technology Laboratory,
208 N. Wright St.

Radiation Surface Science & Engineering Lab
1302 MNTL, rssel.engineering.illinois.edu,
The RSSEL group designs self-organized nanostructures andmesostructures with directed irradiation synthesis and directed
plasma nanosynthesis to enable multi-functional and multiscale properties at surface and interfaces of dissimilar material
systems (e.g. polymer and metals, ceramics and biomaterials).
Research areas include: advanced functional biointerfaces,
advanced fusion interfaces, multi-scale computational irradiation
surface science, nanostructured functional materials, sustainable
nanomanufacturing, and in-situ, in-operando diagnostics.
Computing Applications Building,
605 E. Springfield Ave.

Computational Plasma Physics Lab
129 CAB, curreli.npre.illinois.edu, Davide Curreli
The Computational Plasma Physics Group develops theoreticaland computational models for a variety of Plasma Physics
applications ranging from fusion edge plasmas to industrial
plasmas and nuclear forensic, utilizing advanced, predictive
simulation capabilities on high-performance computing machines,
and multi-physics multi-scale models.
Digital Computer Laboratory, 1304 W. Springfield Ave.

Neutron Metrology Lab

L538 DCL, npre.illinois.edu/directory/profile/difulvio, Angela Di
FulvioThis lab is currently under construction and, once completed, will
be a neutron experimental facility for both NPRE students andresearchers in NPRE and elsewhere. The lab is equipped with a
Cf-252 source and a D-T neutron generator with an emission
rate of ~1E7 and ~1E8 neutrons/s, respectively. The neutron flux
density is well-characterized in energy and intensity employing
various instruments, including multisphere spectrometers,
ionization chambers, long counters, and scintillators, calibrated
to primary reference standards, which enable the detection ofneutrons via scattering of protons or via fission of uranium nuclei.

nuclear@illinois.edu | 217.333.2295 | npre.illinois.edu

Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological
Nuclear Radiation Laboratory, 201 S. Goodwin Ave.

Center for Plasma-Material Interactions

NRL, cpmi.illinois.edu, David N. Ruzic
The primary objective of CPMI is studying plasma-materialinteractions relevant to fusion, semiconductor manufacturing,and plasma processing through computational and experimentalmeans. CPMI has facilities for the study of fusion materials,
High Intensity Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering (HIPMS), liquid
metals, Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL), laser-materialinteractions, and more. Government and commercial partners
support projects to further application and knowledge of plasma
physics.

Hybrid Illinois Device for Research &Applications (HIDRA)
NRL, cpmi.illinois.edu/2016/04/26/hidra-hybrid-illinois-devicefor-research-and-applications, Daniel Andruczyk
The Hybrid Illinois Device for Research and Applications(HIDRA) is a toroidal plasma device at Illinois, formerly known
as WEGA when operated in Greifswald. The HIDRA vacuum
vessel has a circular cross section and a major radius of R = 0.72
m and a minor radius a = 0.19 m, with a steady state toroidal
magnetic field BT < 0.5 T. A limiter can be used with reduced
plasma minor radius between 0.10 – 0.15 m. Since HIDRA has
the ability for long pulse steady state operation via the classicalstellarator configuration, HIDRA has an actual toroidal magnetic
field, just like a tokamak. HIDRA also has the capability to operate
as a tokamak and thus a pulsing capability during steady operation
allows simulation of transient events. Initial plasmas will use 2.45
GHz magnetron heating up to 26 kW and should achieve Te ~ 20
eV and ne ~ 1×1018 m-3. Even though these plasma parameters
are much lower than that of larger devices like EAST, the plasma
and magnetic fields at the first wall are very close to those producedin HIDRA. The steady state and pulsed capabilities of HIDRA
make it an ideal test bed for liquid Li science and technology,
where flow, ejection and recycling can be assessed.
Nuclear Engineering Laboratory,
100 S. Goodwin Ave.

Fusion Studies Lab
104 NEL, fsl.npre.illinois.edu, George H. Miley
Condensed phases of hydrogen in metals is the primary interest of
this laboratory. The properties of trapping sites at defect structures
are currently being investigated in thin films and nanoparticles.
Current experiments include characterizing the effects of plasma
treatments, cryo-milling, and hydride cycling on the creation ofthese defect structures. COMSOL modeling is also done for metal
hydride chemisorption and heat transfer in porous media. Various
equipment: Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy (TDS) unit, liquid
N2 stainless-steel ball mill, dual use high-pressure/high-vacuum
systems, and a DC HV plasma apparatus. These studies are
relevant to Inertial Confinement Fusion, hydrogen storage, andHigh Temperature Superconductivity.

College of Engineering/Campus
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology,
405 N. Mathews Ave., beckman.illinois.edu. Beckman is aninterdisciplinary research institute devoted to leading-edge researchin the physical sciences, computation, engineering, biology,
behavior, cognition, and neuroscience.
Coordinated Science Laboratory, 1308 W. Main St., csl.illinois.
edu. CSL is a premier, multidisciplinary research laboratory
focusing on information technology at the crossroads of circuits,
computing, control, and communications. CSL uses these
innovations to explore critical issues in defense, medicine,environmental sciences, robotics, life-enhancement for thedisabled, and aeronautics.
Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, 104 S. Goodwin
Ave., mrl.illinois.edu. MRL fosters interdisciplinary research at
the forefront of materials science. MRL brings together worldclass faculty and students in condensed matter physics, materials
chemistry, and materials science in a highly collaborative research
environment.
Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, 208 N. Wright St.,
mntl.illinois.edu. MNTL faculty and students are conducting
research advancing a broad range of applications, including
high-speed data communications, high-efficiency lighting,solar power, flexible electronics, biosensors for drug discovery,
biomedical imaging, disease diagnostics, vaccine delivery strategies,
environmental monitoring, and novel microelectronics/photonics
concepts for next-generation computing architectures.
National Center for Supercomputing Applications, 208 N.
Wright St., ncsa.illinois.edu. NCSA is a hub of transdisciplinary
research and digital scholarship where faculty, staff, students, andcollaborators unite to address research grand challenges. NCSA
provides integrated cyberinfrastructure – computing, software,data, networking, and visualization resources and expertise essential
to the work of scientists, engineers, and scholars at Illinois andacross the country.

nuclear@illinois.edu | 217.333.2295 | npre.illinois.edu