NE's Kim receives 2023 Technical Achievement Award
Seungjin Kim, the Capt. James F. McCarthy Jr. and Cheryl E. McCarthy Head of the School of Nuclear Engineering, has received the 2023 Technical Achievement Award from the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Thermal Hydraulics Division (THD).
This annual lifetime achievement award recognizes past or current technical achievements by members of ANS and is the highest award bestowed by THD.
Kim, an ANS Fellow and member since 1997, was selected in recognition of his "outstanding contribution towards advancing two-phase flow experimental capabilities, fundamental understanding of two-phase flow transport phenomena and reactor thermal-hydraulic analysis.”
Kim was presented the award at the ANS Winter Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13. He is the fourth NE faculty member to receive this prestigious achievement award.
“This award is considered the highest honor in the field of reactor thermal-hydraulics, and I am honored to be recognized,” Kim said. “Considering that I am the fourth faculty in our School to receive this award, it is also a testimony to the quality of our department and faculty.”
Kim is director of the Advanced Reactor Thermal-hydraulics Laboratory. He earned his PhD in nuclear engineering and MS in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1999 and 1992, respectively.
Kim’s research is centered around addressing fundamental problems in two-phase flow transport and nuclear reactor safety. More specifically, he has done research in reactor thermal-hydraulics, reactor safety analysis, two-phase flow experiments, interfacial area transport, instrumentation and diagnostics of two-phase transport, reactor thermal-hydraulic system analysis codes and computational two-phase flow.
Most notably, Kim’s work has contributed toward enhancing nuclear reactor safety analysis by enabling experiment capabilities in two-phase flows, where, previously, acquiring data was not possible. Kim developed advanced instrumentation that allows researchers to develop improved models and assess nuclear reactor safety more accurately. His development made a significant impact on the two-phase flow community, such that his approach is now used widely by numerous international research groups.
Kim has served in multiple leadership positions, including chair of the American Nuclear Society Thermal Hydraulics Division from 2016-2017 and the Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee in the Office of Nuclear Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy in 2018 and 2019. Currently, Kim is one of the principals in charge of the Purdue-Duke Energy joint study to explore the feasibility of using advanced nuclear technology to meet Purdue’s long-term energy needs.
Previous recipients of the ANS Technical Achievement award from Purdue School of Nuclear Engineering include Shripad Revankar, professor of nuclear engineering, in 2019; Victor Ransom, professor emeritus and former head, in 1999; and Mamoru Ishii, the Walter Zinn Distinguished Professor of nuclear engineering, in 1989.