Two RPI faculty emeriti will be prominently featured during the first half-day of a major international conference later this month. The 20th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-20), to be held Aug. 20-25 in Washington, D.C., is the premier gathering for experts in nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics and related topical areas. This meeting is held every two years.

As part of the “Pioneers of NURETH - A Recounting of the Past 40 Years” panel, Richard Lahey, Ph.D., Edward E. Hood Professor Emeritus of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and one of the co-founders of NURETH, will recollect and share his thoughts and experiences in creating the American Nuclear Society Thermal Hydraulics Division and the NURETH series.

Lahey is a specialist in two-phase flow and heat transfer and is widely considered to be an expert in nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulics and safety technology. He is the author of many archival papers and books, and is an active consultant (technical and expert witness) and is a founding director of PJM Interconnection LLC, the largest supplier/market operator of wholesale electricity in the country.

Michael Z. Podowski, Ph.D., D.Sc., professor emeritus at RPI, will deliver the keynote address, “In Search of Efficient Methods to Capture Dominant Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer Phenomena.”

Podowski has served on RPI faculty since 1980 (retired on June 30, 2020), as professor, head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, and director of the Center for Multiphase Research. He has served as a technical expert to the International Atomic Energy Commission, DOE, NRC, NASA, and DOH&HS.