Celebrating the 2024 nuclear engineering graduating class

On May 1 we celebrated several of our nuclear engineering graduating class at the Engineering Recognition of the Graduates event. This Saturday, May 4 we celebrate again during our departmental graduation event.

Congratulations to the class of 2024!

WELCOME
Prof. Lisa Marshall, Assistant Extension Professor & Director of Outreach, Retention & Engagement

OPENING REMARKS & INTRODUCTIONS
Dr. Kostadin Ivanov, Distinguished Professor & Department Head

PRESENTATION OF THE UNDERGRADUATE DIPLOMAS
Dr. Jacob Eapen, Professor & Director of the Undergraduate Program

PRESENTATION OF THE GRADUATE DIPLOMAS
Dr. Amanda Lietz
for Dr. Steven Shannon, Professor & Director of Graduate Program
Dr. Mohamed Bourham, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor & Director of the Master of Engineering Program

SPEAKERS
Student Speaker Introduction by Dr. Jacob Eapen
Mr. Alex Murillo, Undergraduate Speaker

Alumnus Speaker introduction by Dr. Kostadin Ivanov
Mr. Harsh Desai,
Chief Commercialization Officer, Zeno Power

CLOSING
Dr. Kostadin Ivanov

GROUP PHOTOGRAPH & RECEPTION ANNOUNCEMENT
Prof. Lisa Marshall

 

Summa cum laude (with highest honor) GPA of 3.75+
Distinguished by a gold sash

Magna cum laude (with high honor) GPA of 3.50-3.74
Distinguished by a silver sash

Cum laude (with honor) GPA of 3.25-3.49
Distinguished by a white sash


BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
India Joy Allan (Denver, NC) … with a minor in Philosophy

Parsa Banki (Wilmington NC)

Thomas B. Benthall (Winterville, NC)

Devin Walker Bradshaw (Oak Ridge, NC)

Natalie Rachel Coon (Cary, NC) … with a minor in Physics

Bryce Davis (Lebanon, OH)

Ryan Joseph Eavenson (Wilmington, NC)

Noah Alexander Etter (Mocksville, NC) … with a minor in Environmental Science

Andrew Steven Fetch (Export, PA) … with a minor in Military Studies: Naval Science

Aidan Patrick Flanagan (Waxhaw, NC)

Derek Ryan Freeman (Asheboro, NC)

William Alexander Graham V (Winston Salem) … with a minor in Environmental Science

Jackson Hase (Stallings, NC)

Cole Alexander Howard (Charlotte, NC)

Alina Jugan (Raleigh, NC) … with a minor in Physics

Maxim M. Khvostov (Raleigh, NC)

Lauren Kohler (Hobbsville, NC) … with a minor in Mathematics

Robert A. Leary (Charlotte, NC)

Kathryn Anna Livoti (Charlotte, NC)

Jacob Thomas Mast (Richmond, VA) … with a minor in Computer Programming

Robert Jake Mikouchi-Lopez (Hilton Head, SC) … with a minor in Mathematics

Alex Paul Murillo (Charlotte, NC)

Matthew Nash (Charlotte, NC)

Ethan Michael Newhouse (Cary, NC) … with a minor in Mathematics

Alexandra Magdaline Peevy (Wilmington, NC) … with minors in Criminology and Technology, engineering, and Design Education

Nolan Daniel Ritchie (Taylorsville, NC)

Nathaniel Thomas Rogalski (Chesapeake, VA)

Caden Paul Sekelsky (Wake Forest, NC)

Austin Lee Sides (Harrisburg, NC)

Joshua Michael Yagozinski (Denville, NJ) … with minors in Material Science & Engineering and Physics

Aaliyah Mercedes Zuniga (Charlotte, NC)

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
Hayden Samuel Bland (Charlotte, NC)
Title: Towards High Temperature Viscosity Measurements using Brownian Particle Tracking
Chair(s): Dr. Alexander Bataller

Bruno J. Caruso (minor in Material Science & Engineering; Lemont, IL)
Title: there is a one-year embargo on this title
Chair(s): Dr. Djamel Kaoumi

Christian Alexander Crevar (Graduate Certificate in Nuclear Nonproliferation Science & Policy; Raleigh, NC)
Title: A Quantitative Risk Assessment for the Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in Non-Nuclear Weapon States
Chair(s): Dr. Mihai Diaconeasa

Arjun Earthperson (New Delhi, India)
Title: Integrating Dual Error Propagation into Dynamic Event Trees to Support Fission Battery Probabilistic Risk Assessments
Chair(s): Dr. Mihai Diaconeasa

Aidan John Furlong (Lake Mary, FL)
Title: Prediction of CIPS Susceptibility in PWR Assemblies Using 3D Convolutional Neural Networks
Chair(s): Dr. Xu Wu

Idi Krissak (prospective Summer 2024; Veracruz, Mexico)
Title: Availability Allocation Methodology to support Risk-Informed and Performance-Based Licensing of Advanced Non-Light Water Reactors
Chair(s): Dr. Mihai Diaconeasa

Christopher B Landis
(New Rochelle, NY)
Title: Interface Capturing Simulations and Analysis of Boiling Phenomenon in Complex Geometries
Chair(s): Dr. Igor Bolotnov

Fadel Mohamed Osama Mohamed Alfadel Nasr (Beheira, Egypt)
Title: Investigating the Impact of Solution Bifurcations on Uncertainty Estimates for the 2-D Rayleigh-Bénard Problem
Chair(s): Dr. Yousry Azmy

Priyanka Pandit (Pune, India)
Title: Quantifying the Likelihood of Nuclear Supply Chain Risk
Chair(s): Dr. Mihai Diaconeasa

Mahmoud Qasim Taher Yaseen (Amman, Jordan)
Title: Uncertainty Quantification in Deep Neural Network Models for Nuclear Reactor Benchmarks
Chair(s): Dr. Xu Wu

MASTER OF NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
Tanjina Akter (Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Title: Plasma Breakdown in Multiple Argon Gas Bubbles in Water
Adviser(s): Dr. Katharina Stapelmann

Farah Raed Hussein Alsafadi (Amman, Jordan)
Title: Deep generative modeling-based data augmentation with demonstration using the BFBT benchmark void fraction datasets
Adviser(s): Dr. Xu Wu

Charles Edward Goodman IV (prospective summer 2024; Greenville, NC)
Title: A Second-Order Hybrid Weight Windows Generation Algorithm for Dynamic Monte Carlo
Chair(s): Dr. Dmitriy Anistratov

Michael Anthony Long (Downingtown, PA)
Title: Neutron Activation Analysis of Novel Space Shielding for Terrestrial Applications
Adviser(s): Dr. Robert Hayes

Laura Carr Moss (Wilmington, NC)
Title: GEH Possession Only License Amendment Safety Analysis of the Nuclear Test Reactor (NTR)
Adviser(s): Dr. Robert Hayes

Vincent Nicholas Novellino (minor in Mathematics; Millstone Township, NJ)
Title: Multi-Level Hybrid Monte Carlo Methods in 1-D Slab Geometry
Adviser(s): Dr. Dmitriy Anistratov

Tara Elizabeth Ann Picudella (Alexandria, VA)
Title: Swelling and Creep of Nuclear Fuels
Adviser(s): Dr. KL Murty

Nicholas Anthony Poole (Raleigh, NC)
Title: Design of a Modular LIBS System for Molten Salt Off-Gas Analysis
Adviser(s): Dr. Ayman Hawari

Robert Alan Lee Rosenthal (Omaha, NE)
Title: The Thermal Hydraulic Modeling of the LFR Fuel Bundle
Adviser(s): Dr. Kostadin Ivanov

Matthew Stephen Schweitzer (Lehighton, PA)
Title: Design and Development of a Molten Salt Irradiation Facility at the PULSTAR Reactor
Adviser(s): Dr. Ayman Hawari

Duncan Patrick Trosan (Lewisville, NC)
Title: The Use of Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Elucidate Chemical Modifications of Organic Substrates Generated by Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma
Adviser(s): Dr. Katharina Stapelmann

Rubyea Yeasmin (Rancho Cordova, CA, summer 2023)
Title: Porosity in Nuclear Graphite: Measurement Techniques and Failure Analysis
Adviser(s): Dr. Jacob Eapen

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
Khaldoon Ali Mohammad Al-Dawood (Ramtha, Jordan)
Title: Liquid Metal Fast Reactor Core Economic Design and Fuel Loading Pattern Optimization Chair(s): Dr. Scott Palmtag

Zainab Sulaiman Rashed Kharb Alnoamani (Abu Dhabi, UAE)Title: Multicycle Optimization for Transition Fuel Cycles Utilizing Non-Equilibrium Fuel Cycle Cost as an Objective Function
Chair(s): Dr. Scott Palmtag

Egemen Aras (prospective summer 2024; Ankara, Turkey)
Title: Enhancement Methodology for Probabilistic Risk Assessment Tools through Diagnostics, Optimization, and Parallel Computing
Chair(s): Dr. Mihai Diaconeasa

Edward Chen (summer 2023; Calgary, AB)
Title: Development of Hazard and Reliability Methodologies for Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems
Chair(s): Dr. Nam Dinh

Kai Eric Duemmler (Indian Trail, NC)
Title: First Principles Investigation of the Thermophysical and Transport Properties of Molten Chlorides
Chair(s): Dr. Benjamin Beeler

Dina ElGewaily (Damanhour, Egypt)
Title: Porosity Analysis using Machine Learning and Ruthenium Diffusion in Nuclear Graphite Grades
Chair(s): Drs. Jacob Eapen & KL Murty

Quentin Faure (prospective summer 2024; Nimes, France)
Title: Novel Multi-Fidelity Multi-Physics Validation Methodology for Transient Applications
Chair(s): Drs. Maria Avramova & Kostadin Ivanov

Mostafa Hamza (prospective summer 2024; Alexandria, Egypt)
Title: Causal Framework for Modeling Dependencies of Human Failure Events in Nuclear Power Plants: Single-Unit, Multi-Unit, and Multi-Module Perspectives
Chair(s): Dr. Mihai Diaconeasa

Samuel C. Hanson (prospective summer 2024; Health Physics Graduate Certificate;
Chicago, IL)
Title: Polymer Composite Radiation Shielding with Computational Radiation Hardness Assurance Methods in Spacecraft Electronics
Chair(s): Dr. Robert Hayes

Arsen Iskhakov (summer 2023; graduate minor in Mathematics; Sibay, Russia)
Title: Development of Data-Driven Methods for Engineering and System Scale Thermal-Hydraulic Modeling
Chair(s): Dr. Nam Dinh

Anna Iskhakova (summer 2023; graduate minor in Mechanical Engineering; Sterlitamak, Russia)
Title: Interface-Capturing Flow Boiling Simulations in a Minichannel with Offset Strip Fins
Chair(s): Dr. Igor Bolotnov

Chase Daniel Lawing (Marion, NC)
Title: Improved Methodologies for Depletion of Gadolinia Bearing Nuclear Fuel
Chair(s): Dr. Scott Palmtag

Khadija Mahbuba (graduate minor in Material Science & Engineering; Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Title: Molecular Dynamics-Based Investigation of Grain Boundaries, Point Defects, and Radiation Damage in alpha-U
Chair(s): Dr. Benjamin Beeler

Joshua Kerwin Morsell (Thomasville, NC)
Title: Plasma Surface Ionization Wave Interactions on Complex Dielectric Substrates
Chair(s): Dr. Steven Shannon

David Peterson (May 2020; Orland Park, IL)
Title: Characterization of Intermediate Pressure Plasmas with Advanced Microwave Resonator Diagnostics
Chair(s): Dr. Steven Shannon

Andy Rivas (Jupiter, FL)
Title: Development of the Dynamic Operation and Maintenance Optimization Framework
Adviser(s): Dr. Jason Hou

Nicholas Sponsel (Rochester, MN)
Title: Characteristics of Pulsed Electric Breakdown in Water-submerged Gas Bubbles
Chair(s): Dr. Katharina Stapelmann

Cheng-Kai Tai (Hsinchu, Taiwan)
Title: Knowledge Gap-driven Simulation Strategy Development based on Direct Numerical Simulation of Mixed Convection Flows
Chair(s): Dr. Igor Bolotnov

MASTER OF ENGINEERING
The Master of Engineering distance education degree program is designed for students with an undergraduate degree in engineering or a closely related field who wish to pursue a graduate degree in engineering. The program was created for working professionals who wish to obtain an advanced degree or those who wish to change fields within engineering.

Corey Arnold (Centralia, IL) | Casondria Cheek (Asheville, NC) | Scott Mendenhall (Hickory, NC) | Rebecca Petrea (Huntersville, NC) | Brian Rule (Mesa, AZ) | Gabrielle Tonsay (Winston Salem, NC)