Michael Podowski, a professor emeritus of nuclear engineering and engineering physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, recently received the Seaborg Medal and the Technical Achievements Award from the American Nuclear Society (ANS).

According to the ANS, the Seaborg Medal “recognizes an individual for outstanding scientific or engineering research achievements associated with the development of peaceful uses of nuclear science.” Podowski received this international honor for his “long-time leadership and outstanding scientific and engineering research achievements to advance safety and efficiency of nuclear energy generation worldwide.”

The Technical Achievements Award is presented in recognition of an “outstanding past or current technical achievement.” This is the highest award given by the Thermal Hydraulics Division. Podowski received this honor for “his groundbreaking technical accomplishments in the modeling and computer simulation of single and multiphase flow and heat transfer.”

Podowski is a former director of the Center for Multiphase Research at Rensselaer, as well as a former head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics. 

His research interests focus on the fundamentals and applications of multiphase flow and heat transfer, computational multiphase flow dynamics, dynamics and stability of multiphase systems, and nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulics and safety.  

Podowski has authored and co-authored more than 350 technical publications. He is an ANS fellow and a recipient of the 2014 ANS Arthur Holly Compton Award in Education.