Dr. Karen Vierow, associate department head and associate professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been appointed by Dr. Ernest Moniz to serve on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee (NEAC).
Vierow will serve on the committee and provide advice on reactor safety and design, severe accident codes for advanced reactors, high temperature fast reactor thermal hydraulics and reactor physics. The committee was established in 1998 and serves in an advisory role to the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, which in turn advises the DOE on policy issues, long-range energy plans and other considerations related to nuclear energy usage and its applications.
Vierow received her Bachelor of Science degree in nuclear engineering from Purdue University before receiving her Master of Science in nuclear engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and her doctoral degree in quantum engineering and system sciences at the University of Tokyo, Japan. Before coming to Texas A&M in 2006 to serve as a faculty member, Vierow was an assistant professor for the school of nuclear engineering at Purdue University.
Vierow has also crafted an established career in nuclear industry, serving as the assistant chief engineer with the Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation (NUPEC) in Tokyo and as an engineer for the General Electric Corporation’s nuclear engineering division.
During her time at Texas A&M, Vierow has conducted research in the areas of two-phase flow and heat transfer, establishing the Laboratory for Nuclear Heat Transfer Systems to investigate condensation heat transfer mechanisms, develop new reactor designs and safety systems and advance methodologies in reactor safety analysis.