Hawari Named Distinguished Professor of Engineering at NC State University

Dr. Ayman Hawari has been appointed distinguished university professor by Chancellor Woodson.  To qualify for this honor, the distinguished candidate “must be an outstanding faculty member or potential faculty member who has achieved recognition well above the criteria for full professor and be considered one of the best scholars in the discipline. Named distinguished faculty chairs and distinguished professors will be known and respected nationally and internationally by scholars in their field”. In addition, for the distinguished university title, “The candidate will have attained all the criteria for a distinguished professor and, in addition, have improved the quality of NC State and served its mission through service and involvement in the campus community”.

Ayman Hawari earned his BS in nuclear engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, his MS and PhD in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan. He performs experimental and computational investigation (simulations) to understand the fundamentals of the interaction of radiation with matter and the resulting ramifications that impact the engineering of nuclear systems. Currently, his research group conducts measurements and simulations (using ab initio and molecular dynamics methods) to investigate the scattering of thermal neutrons in matter and to generate thermal neutron scattering cross section data. In addition, they apply atomistic modeling techniques and develop experiments to study the behavior of accident tolerant fuel in the extreme radiation and temperature environments of a nuclear reactor.  Hawari’s group is also engaged in the validation and benchmark of modern nuclear reactor simulation tools in support of transient testing of nuclear fuel. All of these thrust areas directly support the development of Advanced Nuclear Reactors including Small Modular Reactor concepts.

Dr. Hawari is also the Director of NC State’s Nuclear Reactor Program (NRP). The NRP is a partner of the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) and Idaho National Laboratory as well as a member of the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN). Research faculty and staff within the UNC system or at other academic institutions and by governmental agencies and industries in the State of North Carolina and the US use the PULSTAR reactor facility.