Sandia Initiatives in Nuclear Energy Safety Modeling and Simulation
Bio: Dr. David L. Luxat leads the Nuclear Energy Safety Technologies department at Sandia National Laboratories, which is a national and international leader in the development of nuclear safety modeling and simulation methods. As part of the department’s effort, he leads the development of the MELCOR computer code. Dr. Luxat is leading a range of initiatives to enable accelerated innovation and modernization in advanced nuclear energy technologies through novel methods and capabilities for assessing their realistic levels of safety. These efforts are supporting key initiatives of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Prior to joining Sandia in 2019, Dr. Luxat led a broad range of initiatives for the United States nuclear industry after Fukushima that enhanced the safety and preserved the economic operation of nuclear power plants in the United States. As an element of these initiatives, Dr. Luxat led industry efforts to forensically evaluate the March 2011 accidents at Fukushima Daiichi, which proved central to developing new safety insights and an understanding of the damage at the reactors critical to future remediation plans.