Bio
Dr. Yadu Sasikumar is an R&D Staff member in the Used Fuel and Nuclear Material Disposition (UFNMD) group within the Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division (NEFCD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). His research specializes in evaluating the integrity of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and its interaction with the environment under storage and disposal conditions. His work primarily involves designing and conducting experiments with SNF at the Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory (IFEL).
Before joining ORNL, Yadu worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Nuclear Engineering Department at Purdue University. During this time, he studied the airborne release and contamination from failed fuel using computational simulations and hot cell experiments at ORNL.
Yadu received his PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the Open University, UK, in 2022, under the Imperial, Cambridge, and Open University Centre for Doctoral Training (ICO-CDT) program. His PhD thesis focused on assessing the wetting and corrosion of SNF surfaces using experimental techniques including synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy and powder adsorption isotherms. He earned his M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from Imperial College London in 2016. His M.S. thesis focused on irradiation embrittlement in Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) cladding at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO), where he conducted in-situ micro-compression testing on ion-irradiated Hastelloy-N samples.
Professional Experience
- Postdoctoral Research Assistant
Department of Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University (2022 – 2023)
- ASTRO (Post-Master’s Researcher)
Used Fuel Disposition, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (2020 - 2022)
- Undergraduate Student Tutor for Material Corrosion and Creep Failure
The Open University – Residential School (2018 - 2019)
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Nuclear Engineering (2022)
The Open University, United Kingdom
funded by the Imperial Cambridge Open University – Centre for Doctoral Training (ICO-CDT) in Nuclear Energy - Master of Science in Advanced Nuclear Engineering (2016)
Department of Materials, Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London, United Kingdom - Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering (2015)
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University - Hyderabad, India
Trademarks and Patents
- Montgomery, R.A., Cheng, M.D., Sasikumar, Y. and Bevard, B.B., UT-Battelle, LLC, 2024. SYSTEM FOR AEROSOL SAMPLING DURING MECHANICAL LOAD. U.S. Patent Application 17/469,419.