Dr. Mustafa Hadj-Nacer is currently a Research Associate Professor and the Associate Director of the Nuclear Packaging Graduate Program (NPGP) in the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of Nevada Reno (UNR). His research is focused on applying and developing experimentally benchmarked computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models for several applications ranging from nuclear packaging to enhanced heat transfer and cooling systems and developing wireless systems for interrogating the internal conditions of spent nuclear fuel canisters. 

Dr. Hadj-Nacer joined UNR in 2013 as a post-doctoral research associate, and then a research scientist in 2014, In 2017, he became a Research Assistant Professor and was promoted to a Research Associate Professor in 2022. He received his Ph.D. from Aix-Marseille University, France. His research included gas-surface interaction in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and the measurement of the mass flow rate through micro-tubes of different cross-section shapes and materials. Prior, he obtained his M.Sc. from Aix-Marseille University in 2009 and B.Sc. from Polytechnic School of Algeria in 2008.

Hi, my name is Megan and I am a Ph.D. student in the Nuclear Packaging research group. I joined the group as an undergraduate research assistant in the summer of 2017. I graduated with my bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering in December of 2018 and my master’s in Mechanical Engineering in December of 2019. I am now working on my Ph.D. and am expected to graduate in May of 2023. My research is on developing CFD models of spent nuclear fuel casks to predict their temperatures under different environments. I also investigate how rarefaction affects the heat transfer characteristics of a system using a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo. In my free time, I love camping, playing team sports, and going to concerts. 

M Iffat Hasan, currently, performing his research in the porous media research group as a Ph.D. student. He joined the porous media research group as a master’s student in Spring 2018. For his research, he was developing an OpenFOAM code for numerical analysis of porous media. At the same time, he was building an experiment to benchmark his code. Iffat completed his Master’s degree in the summer of 2020. Before joining UNR, Iffat completed his Bachelor’s degree from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). After completing his BS in 2016, he worked in different companies as an engineer and projects as a researcher. Playing soccer, traveling, watching movies are his leisure time activities. Please visit his website to find his work https://sites.google.com/view/mihasan/ 

Hi, my name is Lamia Belhassani. I joined the University of Nevada, Reno in the fall of 2023 as a PhD student in the nuclear packaging research group. Before that, I completed my B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical engineering at the National Polytechnic School in Algeria. 

My research is centered on enhancing the safety of nuclear packaging systems, with a primary focus on developing a monitoring system to interrogate the internal harsh conditions in dry storage nuclear canisters, while meeting the highly demanding standards of nuclear safety. My work also involves conducting simulations of radiation dose and attenuation calculations in spent nuclear fuel canisters to estimate the allowable limits of radiation doses received by the monitoring platform components, which will guide the selection of necessary shielding materials.

Hello! My name is German, I am a PhD student in the Nuclear Packaging research group. I joined the group as a graduate research assistant in the Spring of 2024. I graduated with my master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in June 2012 from Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University, Russia. After my graduation I started my career as a mechanical engineer and managed to work in different positions in several places: a big gas extraction/distribution company, a central research institute of construction materials, and a small R&D company specialized in seismic design and vibrational safety of Nuclear and Conventional power plants.
My primary target is to apply all my knowledge and experience to provide new results to the elastic/thermal/radiational problems arising in the nuclear packaging field. Part of my research is to use field coupling to obtain correct effects and refine existing models for better prediction of poorly-known effects in modern nuclear packaging casks.
In my free time,  I love cycling, hiking, and playing bass guitar. 

Hello, I'm Brandon, currently pursuing my Master's degree and actively involved in the Nuclear Packaging research group. I became a graduate research assistant in the spring of 2022 after completing my bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from UNR in May 2021. My research primarily revolves around developing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models of spent nuclear fuel dry storage casks. Through simulations, I analyze the heat transfer characteristics of these containers during storage. My focus lies in optimizing the placement of thermoelectric devices within dry storage casks. These devices convert the thermal energy from spent nuclear fuel into usable electrical power, serving as a potential power source for an internal condition monitoring platform. Beyond my academic pursuits, I enjoy playing the guitar, video games, and reading.

Hello, I'm Apolo, currently pursuing a masters degree in mechanical engineering. I joined the group as an undergraduate research assistant in spring 2023. After completing my bachelors degree in mechanical engineering here at UNR in fall 2023 I became a graduate research assistant with the group. My research focuses on developing computational fluid dynamic models (CFD) of Aerodynamic Focusing lenses. Through these CFD models I am interested in the flow behavior within these lenses, more specifically, I am focused on the transitional phase between laminar and turbulent flow in these lenses. Aerodynamic focusing lenses are a crucial component in mass spectrometry instrumentation. Being able to better predict flow behavior through these lenses will allow more optimal designs, which will be able to focus a wider range of particles. Outside of academia I enjoy weightlifting, board sports, and cooking.