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Students spoke at the American Nuclear Society student conference held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

In August 2013, two Khalifa University Master’s students in Nuclear Engineering presented their initial research findings at the 2013 American Nuclear Society Student Conference held at MIT. 

Students Amal Salah Bin Hraiz and Mouza Abdulla Alhebsi presented their research papers to over 600 students and professionals who were in attendance at the conference, including a large number of international representatives. Their papers were selected for the conference by a panel of reviewers from ANS who assessed hundreds of submissions from students around the world.

Both students are currently receiving full scholarships from the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) as part of its Energy Pioneers program, in order to pursue their masters. ENEC also fully funded their trip to MIT.

Amal’s paper was titled “3D Full Core Calculations of Westinghouse AP1000 Using WIMS/PARCS/SNAP Code System,” and Mouza Abdulla Alhebsi paper was titled “Numerical Investigation on the Dissolution of a Light Gas Stratification in a Safety Containment Model”. Both papers were well received by the audience who showed a great deal of interest in the research.

Amal is currently working on her M.Sc. research in the area of modeling and simulation of nuclear reactors while Mouza is working in the area of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) applications in nuclear reactor safety analysis. The students were under the supervision of Khalifa University’s Nuclear Engineering faculty members, Dr. Mohamed Elsawi, and Dr. Yacine Addad respectively. 

The conference presented both women with the opportunity to learn about the latest nuclear developments from industry, research, and academia. It also gave them the opportunity to listen to their peer’s research in a variety of subjects related to nuclear engineering including law, nuclear medicine, quantum physics, computer science and thermodynamics.

“We are very pleased that our students had the opportunity to present their work at such an important international conference, in front of their peers, and industry and academic leaders,” said Dr. Philip Beeley, Professor and Program Chair, Nuclear Engineering at Khalifa University. “The safe and secure use of nuclear energy is one of the main focuses of the government of the UAE at the moment; in fact the country just broke ground for the construction of its second nuclear reactor, so to see our students focused on such an important endeavor is very encouraging for the future of the UAE. Khalifa University is dedicated to providing our students with a high quality education, and with ample opportunities to meet with industry and academic leaders, in this way we are helping to build the knowledge economy envisioned by the Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision.”

“We are proud to support such talented and dedicated students and congratulate them both for their hard work and achievements,” said Ahmed Al Mazrouie, Deputy Chief Nuclear Officer of ENEC. “Nuclear energy is an industry of critical importance to the future of our nation – and we need a large, highly trained and determined team of Emirati women and men to lead the industry forward. We look forward to welcoming them both to ENEC when their studies are complete.”