Congratulations to Dr. Maria Avramova, Professor and University Faculty Scholar at NC State University, recipient of this year’s Outstanding Global Engagement Award.  

International projects Maria is involved with or co-leads include – 

• NEA OECD Expert Group on Core Thermal-Hydraulics and Mechanics, Chair  (2020 – present)
• NEA OECD/US NRC Liquid Metal Fast Reactor Core Thermal-Hydraulic Benchmark for Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification of Sub-Channel and Computational Fluid Dynamics Codes, Lead Coordinator (2021 – present)
• US DOE Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) / NEA OECD Benchmark Evaluation of Transient Multi-Physics Experimental Data for Pellet Cladding Mechanical Interactions, Lead Coordinator (2020 – present)
• US DOE NEUP / NEA OECD TVA WB1 Multi-Physics Cycle Depletion Benchmark, Co-Chair (2019 – present)
• NEA OECD Rostov-2 VVER-1000 Multi-Physics Benchmark,  Lead Coordinator (2018 – present)
• The South African National Nuclear Regulator Center for Nuclear Safety and Security,  Member and NC State Principal Investigator  (2017 – present).
• NEA OECD Light Water Reactor (LWR) Uncertainty Analysis in Modeling (UAM), Member of the Scientific Board and Program Committee (2007 – present)
• NEA OECD/ US NRC Pressurized Water Reactor Sub-channel and Bundle Tests (PSBT) Benchmark,  Lead Coordinator (2009 – 2012)
• NEA OECD/ US NRC Boiling Water Reactor Full Bundle Tests (BFBT) Benchmark, Lead Coordinator (2004 – 2008).
• And most recently, membership on the OECD NEA Global Forum Working Group 4: Future Requirements for the Competitiveness of Nuclear Energy. 

Dr. Avramova is also the Director of Consortium for Nuclear Power (CNP), and the Coordinator of CTF User’s Group. Her research areas include reactor thermal hydraulics, core design, transient and safety analysis, multi-physics and multi-scale simulations, verification and validation, and uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. CNP promotes research and development, innovation, education, and training as well as provision of technical support, expert advice, and consultancy services benefiting the nuclear industry and its regulation. The CTF User Group maintains the “gold-standard” of CTF, providing unified and up-to-date code version supplemented with extended verification and validation suite, automated test matrix, and application guidelines. 

Dr. Avramova has organized and delivered seventeen invited courses at different international institutions; and has conducted more than fifty international workshops, seminars, and invited talks. 

Dr. Avramova has served in nine M.S., Ph.D., and Sc.D. committees in foreign academic institutions; and has hosted sixteen visiting scholars from international institutions.

This Global Engagement Award encourages and recognizes outstanding accomplishment in globally engaged teaching, student support, research, extension, and/or engagement and economic development by faculty and non-faculty professionals of North Carolina State University. Nominees for this award have made important international contributions in one or more of the following aspects of the university’s mission: Research and Discovery, Teaching and Learning, or Engagement, Extension and Economic Development.