People

Principal Investigators

Vice President | Faculty Affairs
Regents Professor
James J. Cain ’51 Professor III

Educational Background

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University 1983
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Kansas State University 1979
B.E. Mechanical Engineering, Bangalore University, India 1978

Research Interests

Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow
Numerical techniques
Aerosols and condensation heat transfer

Awards & Honors

2020 ASME James Harry Potter Gold Medal
The Association of Former Students Texas A&M University, University Level Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award for Administration, 2018
Regents Professor, Texas A&M University System, November 2014
Inducted to Kansas State University Engineering Hall of Fame, Manhattan, Kansas, March 2011
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, March 2009, The Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
Distinguished Alumni, B. M. S. College of Engineering, Bangalore, India, December 2008
James and Ada Forsyth Professorship, 2007
Charles W. Crawford Service Award, 2006
The Association of Former Students Texas A&M University Faculty Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award, 2001
TEES Fellow, 99-00, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University
TEES Fellow, 98-99, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University

Selected Publications

A. Alwafi, D.T. Nguyen, Y. Hassan, N.K. Anand, Investigation of the flow near the wall of a single impinging jet at the scaled upper plenum of HTGR using TR-PIV, The Proceedings of the International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE), Tsukuba, Japan, May 2019.
B.H. Choi, D. Orea, D.T. Nguyen, N.K. Anand, Y. Hassan, P. Sabharwall, Numerical Study of Particle Transport and Deposition in a Horizontal Channel Using a Lagrangian-based Modelling Approach, International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE 2019), November 8th-14th, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2019.
D. Orea, B.H. Choi, D.T. Nguyen, R. Vaghetto, N.K. Anand, Y.A. Hassan, P. Sabharwall, Experimental Study of Surrogate Particle Transport and Deposition In a Square Channel Using Particle Tracking Technique, International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE 2019), November 8th-14th, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2019.
D. Orea, B.H. Choi, D.T. Nguyen, R. Vaghetto, N.K. Anand, Y.A. Hassan, P. Sabharwall, An Investigation to Develop Measurement Techniques for Quantifying Fission Product Transport in a Gas-cooled Fast Reactor-Versatile Test Reactor Program, Transactions of American Nuclear Society 120 (1), pp. 1015-1018.
B.H. Choi, D. Orea, D.T. Nguyen, N.K. Anand, Y. Hassan, P. Sabharwall, Numerical Investigation of Fluid Flow in a Square Channel-Versatile Test Reactor Program, Transactions of American Nuclear Society 121 (1), pp. 1149-1152.

Yassin Hassan

y-hassan@tamu.edu

979-845-7090

Royce E. Wisenbaker ’39 Chair in Engineering
Professor of Department of Nuclear Engineering
Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering

Educational Background

Ph.D., Nuclear Engineering, University of Illinois, 1980
M.S., Nuclear Engineering, University of Illinois, 1975
B.S., Engineering, University of Alexandria, Egypt, 1968

Research Interests

Computational & Experimental Thermal Hydraulics
Reactor Safety
Fluid Mechanics
Two-Phase Flow
Turbulence & Laser Velocimetry
Imaging Techniques

Certifications & Memberships

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellow of the American Nuclear Society
Fellow of the the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Awards & Honors

Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Design
Associate editor of the Journal of Verification, Validation and Uncertainty Quantification
TEES Research Impact Award 2018 – 2019
Association of Former Students Distinguished Research Award 2018 – 2019
American Nuclear Society Seaborg Medal (2008)
James N. Landis Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2017
Fluid Engineering Division of American Society of Mechanical Engineers Inaugural Flow Visualization Competition and Prize at FEDSM 2017
Akiyama Medal for the best paper at the International Nuclear Engineering Conference (ICONE 24), 2016
George Westinghouse Gold Medal Award (2003)
Arthur Holly Compton Award of the American Nuclear Society, 2003
Thermal Hydraulics Technical Achievement Award (2004)
Glenn Murphy Award of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2001)
Honorary professor in the School of Computer Science and Engineering at Bangor University in the United Kingdom

Rodolfo Vaghetto

r.vaghetto@tamu.edu

979-845-4109

Research Assistant Professor – Nuclear Engineering Department

Educational Background

PhD in Nuclear Engineering – Texas A&M University (2013)
M.S in Nuclear Engineering – Texas A&M University (2011)
University of Palermo, Italy (2000)

Research Interests

Experimental and computational aspects involving High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors.
Computational thermal-hydraulics applied to existing Light Water Reactors (LWR) and Generation IV reactors

Selected Publications

S. Lee, S. S. Abdulsattar, R. Vaghetto, Y. A. Hassan, “Permeability and compression of fibrous porous media generated from dilute suspensions of fiberglass debris during a loss of coolant accident,” Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 291, pp. 244-260, 2015.
B. Beeny, R. Vaghetto, K. Vierow, Y. A. Hassan, “A Sensitivity Study Supporting Comparative Analysis of MELCOR and GOTHIC Large Dry Pressurized Water Reactor Containment Models,” Proceedings of the 16th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-16) NURETH15-13356.
R. Vaghetto, S. Lee, E. Kee, Y. A. Hassan, “Experimental Observations of Boric Acid Precipitation Scenarios,” Proceedings of the 16th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-16) NURETH15-13055.
B. Beeny, R. Vaghetto, K. Vierow, Y. A. Hassan, “MELCOR and GOTHIC Analyses of a Large Dry Pressurized Water Reactor Containment to Support Resolution of GSI-191,” Proceedings of the 16th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-16) NURETH15-13354.
S. Lee, R. Vaghetto, J. Lim, M. Kappes, Y. A. Hassan, “The Effect of Electric Potential on Fibrous Debris Bypass through a Containment Sump Strainer,” Proceedings of the 16th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-16) NURETH15-13760

Current Student

Khoi M. Ngo

ngominhkhoi.ndpd@tamu.edu

Master Student – Mechanical Engineering Department

Byung-Hee Choi

bagbagwan@tamu.edu

PhD Candidate – Mechanical Engineering Department

Daniel Orea

oreadaniel@tamu.edu

PhD Student – Nuclear Engineering Department

Nirmala Phillip

nphillip01@tamu.edu

PhD Candidate – Mechanical Engineering Department

Reynaldo Chavez

reyjrchavez23@tamu.edu

Mechanical Engineering Department

Former Student - Doctorate

Robert Muyshondt

muyshondt@tamu.edu

Graduated: December 2021

Marilyn Delgado

mdelgad17@tamu.edu

Graduating Thesis: An Experimental Study on Flow-Induced Vibration of a Single and Adjacent Tubes Within a Model Helical Coil Heat Exchanger

Graduated: May 2021

Anas Alwafi

alwafianas@tamu.edu

Graduating Thesis: Experimental Measurement of Fluid Mixing at The Scaled Upper Plenum in the High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors

Graduated: May 2021

Han Li

Graduating Thesis: “Computational Study on the Interaction between Twin Rectangular Jets”

Graduated: December 2018

Jae Hyung Park

Graduating Thesis: “Natural Convection Circulation in the Upper Plenum of a Scaled Model of Very High Temperature Reactor in the Event of Loss-of-Coolant Accident”

Graduated: August 2016