Biographies of NEST Fellows
Ongoing

2019

Stephen King
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Home Organisation, Country: Texas A&M University, United States

Host Organisation, Country: Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland

Dates from/to: August to November 2019

Education level/Experience: Masters Student

Expectations: Learn how to use CFD software and perform calculations, learn porous media concepts and its application, evaluate an approach to a blind benchmark testing using porous media

Competences  acquired: Fluent CFD code, porous media field

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/the-stephen-king

“Through the NEST Fellowship I became connected to other scientists and student researchers from different cultures and different background and each with their own viewpoint.

From conversations I learned how others see the world and approach problems, which were always unique and something I simply would not experience at home. Furthermore, the work I engaged in was closely supervised by experts within the field and I was able to dedicate the entire internship time to learning novel techniques to accomplish challenging objectives and was able to apply the knowledge after the internship on new projects. The NEST Fellowship served as one of the significant foundations in my scientific journey and opened the door to many cutures that I never experienced before”

 

Lea Zimmerman
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Home Organisation, Country: ETH, Switzerland

Host Organisation, Country: Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland

Dates from/to: Feb. – Aug. 2019

Education level: MSc in Nuclear Engineering

Expectations: To work on a research project together with experienced scientist

Competences  acquired: To perform the different stages of experimental work: plan, conduct, analyse and present

 

Kevin Manohar
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Home Organisation, Country: University of Calgary, Canada

Host Organisation, Country: Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland

Dates from/to: May 2, 2019 – April 30, 2020

Education level/Experience: Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s 

Expectations: Data analysis of experimental results for the HYMERES-2 project; assistance with experiments

Competences  acquired: Data analysis of experimental fluid dynamics results using machine learning; Experimental measurements (PIV); scientific writing for publication and presentations

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/kevin-manohar-653983118

 

My year-long experience working as an intern at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland was a highly rewarding and memorable experience. While the experience working abroad comes with its added benefits of experiencing the efficient Swiss work culture, the support I received under the NEST umbrella exceeded all my expectations. This resulted in a successful internship journey, which helped me redirect my future career goals to the domain of research. The colleagues at PSI came from various educational backgrounds, providing adequate diversity in schools of thought that engendered new ways to solve challenging scientific problems - an exposure which the typical university classroom is not always able to sufficiently provide.  I would recommend this opportunity to any curious and adventurous mind who is looking for a challenge and new experiences.

 

Carlos Vazquez-Rodriguez
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Home Organisation, Country: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain

Host Organisation, Country: Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland

Dates from/to: From September 1st to November 30th 2019

Education level/Experience: MSc Nuclear Science and Technology at the UPM

Expectations: To participate in the scoping calculations of HYMERES-2 experiments

Competences  acquired: Problem-solving and Analytical skills. Improve in modelling with the GOTHIC code

Twitter: @CharlieNuclear

“The NEST Fellowship allowed me to spend three months at the Paul Scherrer Institut and it was one of the most enriching experiences of my researching career.

My university had entered in the HYMERES-2 Project three months before my internship, and it was a privilege to have the opportunity to take my first steps in the project next to the scientists who have spent years leading projects like HYMERES”

 

Dmitry Grishchenko

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Home Organisation, Country: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Host Organisation, Country: Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland

Dates from/to: From  to 

Education level/Experience: Ph.D. , Senior Researcher

Expectations: Experimental thermal-hydraulics, modelling and simulations, safety and risk analysis for GEN-III and IV nuclear reactors and SMRs.

Competences acquired:  Experience in several EU H2020 research projects (SERENA,THINS, SESAME, NEST HYMERES-1/2, McSAFER, PASCAL), and large national research programs (SUNRISE, APRI)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Dmitry.Grishchenko.7

The NEST fellowship provided me with opportunity to collaborate with other research teams and exchange experience in experimental methods, approaches to modelling and simulations, pre-test and post-test analysis, aligning of experimental and analytical goals and dive into in-depth scientific and technical discussions.

Importantly, NEST fellowship program allowed me to take part in the top-notch scientific research, helped to expand scientific network and opened new opportunities for professional development and career growth. 

 

Stella Tournier
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Home Organisation, Country: The University of Manchester, United Kingdom

Host Organisation, Country: CLADS, Japan

Dates from/to: 01/11 – 27/12/2019

Education level/Experience: Current PhD student

Expectations: I hoped to get the chance to work with experts in the field. Moreover, I was familiar with the publications of Wakaida -san’s group and I knew that their work was very relevant to my PhD project.

Competences  acquired: In addition to becoming more familiar with LIBS, I gained an understanding of alternative configurations, and the limitations of the technique, which provide avenues for further research and innovation.

In addition to the value the NEST fellowship added my PhD, I found that it was an excellent opportunity to gain insight into Scientific research in Japan. I felt extremely supported during my stay, both in terms of the organisation of the programme and from the engagement of senior researchers and colleagues. Even though my fellowship was just two months long, I really felt a part of the research team and I’m very appreciative for it.

 

Rodosthenis Charalampous
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Home Organisation, Country: The University of Manchester, United Kingdom

Host Organisation, Country: The University of Tokyo, Japan

Dates from/to: 06/01/2020 – 31/01/2020

Education level/Experience: BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering (2018, The University of Manchester), Currently: PhD Electrical and Electronic Engineering (The University of Manchester)

Expectations: I was impelled to participate in the NEST CLADS Project once I observed the project’s topic and its relevance to my current research. As a postgraduate researcher investigating communications and localisation within the context of nuclear decommissioning, I was motivated by the project’s elements of robot navigation and positioning.

Competences  acquired: Through the programme, I became familiar with the Robot Operating System (ROS) and was acquainted with the methods used to develop Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) simulations within ROS. I was also given the opportunity to attend a series of lectures regarding the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and learn about the robotic systems and overall decommissioning technologies that are currently used.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodosthenis/

   

 

Thomas Wright
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Home Organisation, Country: The University of Manchester, United Kingdom

Host Organisation, Country: JAEA, Japan

Dates from/to: 30/10/2019 - 20/12/2019

Education level/Experience: PhD/ PostDoc in Robotics Research

Expectations: Work within the robotics team at the JAEA to investigate potential technologies which could aid with decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi power station.

Competences  acquired: Learning new skills in my area of research and understanding the overlap between the Japanese and UK Nuclear decommissioning sectors

 LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-wright-166317145/

   

 

Dave Megson-Smith  
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Home Organisation, Country: University of Bristol, United Kingdom

Host Organisation, Country: CLADS, Tomioka, Japan

Dates from/to: 26th Oct 2019 to 30 Nov 2019

Education level/Experience: PhD

Expectations: Obtain a basic understanding of LIBS so that we may be able to establish a system in Bristol.

Competences  acquired: A superb hands on introduction to the LIBS technique and its challenges.

 

 

2020

Michael S. Gorman
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Home Organisation, Country: Texas A&M University, United States

Host Organisation, Country: PSI, Switzerland

Dates from/to: 02/03/2020 – 16/03/2020 (Cancelled COVID)

Education level/Experience: Ph.D. Student

Expectations: Perform CFD analysis for accident scenarios

Competences  acquired: ANSYS Fluent

   

 

Brent Hollrah

 
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Home Organisation, Country: Texas A&M University, United States

Host Organisation, Country: Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland

Dates from/to: 02/03/2020 to 16/03/2020

Education level/Experience: Masters

Expectations: Perform CFD simulations to study the effect of a helium release on convective heat transfer

Competences  acquired: ANSYS FLUENT

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-hollrah-a64866174/

   

 

Denise Chavez

 
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Home Organisation, Country: Texas A&M University, United States

Host Organisation, Country: Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland

Dates from/to: 02/03/2020 to 16/03/2020

Education level/Experience: Master of Science Nuclear Engineering

Expectations:To conduct mass spectrometer hydrogen containment experiments for reactor safety under the HYMERES project.

Competences  acquired: While at PSI, I toured the many research facilities and learned about the the functionality and components of the hydrogen containment system used for the HYMERES project. While working with senior personnel, I participated in the trouble shooting process of the mass spectrometer to ensure accurate data accumulation of concentration measurements.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisechavez18/