NSF Fellowship Feature

We’re proud to highlight a group of researchers whose work spans some of the most important challenges in nuclear engineering and medical physics today.

Julia Gottlieb is investigating molten salt corrosion in 316H stainless steel, focusing on how both the material and the salt evolve under reactor-relevant conditions. By combining long-duration exposure experiments with detailed microstructural and chemical analysis, her work helps build a clearer picture of salt–material interactions, a key step toward safer and more reliable molten salt reactor systems.

Magnus Gu is working on the design and optimization of advanced heat exchangers using triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) geometries. His research integrates computational fluid dynamics, machine learning–based optimization, and experimental validation to identify high-performance designs. These systems have the potential to improve efficiency and reduce the footprint of next-generation nuclear energy systems.

Alessandro Ingegno is developing new computational methods to accelerate nuclear reactor simulations. His work introduces novel variance reduction techniques for Dynamic Monte Carlo, including adaptive time-slicing and time-adjoint approaches. These methods aim to significantly reduce computation time while maintaining accuracy, enabling more efficient analysis of complex reactor transients.

Omar Peña is advancing quantitative medical imaging through next-generation radiation detector technologies and computational methods. His research focuses on systems such as photon-counting CT, which can produce higher-quality images while reducing radiation exposure. His goal is to support earlier, safer, and more accurate diagnoses, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Together, this work reflects a strong commitment to advancing both energy systems and healthcare technologies through rigorous, interdisciplinary research. It’s exciting to see where each of these paths leads next.