Location
2945 Cooley
Biography
Manera joined the NERS faculty in 2011 as an Associate Professor and became a full professor in 2017. She is the co-director of the Experimental and Computational Multiphase Flow Laboratory (ECMF) and of the High-Resolution TH Imaging Laboratory. In the two laboratories, fluid-dynamic experiments are performed using in-house advanced state-of-the-art high-resolution experimental techniques such as wire-mesh sensors, gamma-tomography, and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) combined with novel refractive-index matching techniques. The advanced instrumentation allows quantitative imaging of single-phase and multiphase flows in complex geometries and high-pressure systems.
Manera is the principal investigator of the ARPA-E-funded Project SAFARI (Secure Automation for Advanced Reactor Innovation), which is developing AI-enhanced “digital twins” of nuclear reactors for predictive maintenance and autonomous control.
News
Education
- Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
PhD Nuclear Engineering ’03 - The Netherlands
Diploma Radiation Protection Expert Level III ’01 - The University of Pisa, Italy
MSc (with Highest Honors, 110/110 cum laude) Nuclear Engineering ’99
Research Interests
Experimental two-phase flow, thermal-hydraulics, computational fluid dynamics and multiphysics methods for power reactor safety analysis.
Fission Systems & Radiation Transport
Professional Service
- July 2021 – present: Professor of Nuclear Safety and Multiphase Flows, ETH-Zurich, Switzerland
- 2017 – present: Professor, Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan
- 2011 – 2017: Associate Professor, Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan
- 2007 – 2011: Head of group “Systems Behavior,” Laboratory of Reactor Physics and Systems Behavior, Department of Nuclear Energy and Safety, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland
- 2006 – 2007: Scientist (group “Systems Behavior”), Laboratory of Reactor Physics and Systems Behavior, Department of Nuclear Energy and Safety, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland
- 2006 – 2006: Senior Consultant in Nuclear Engineering, Colenco Power Engineering AG, Switzerland
- April 2005: Visiting Scientist in the Laboratory of Prof. Ishii, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- 2004 – 2005: Scientist in the Department of Accident Analyses, Institute of Safety Research, Research Center Rossendorf e.V. (FZD), Germany
- May 2003 – Dec 2003: Researcher and ad interim responsible of Thermal-Hydraulic section, Interfaculty Reactor Institute, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Honors and Awards
- 2023, American Nuclear Society Fellow
- 2022, Bal-Raj Sehgal Memorial Award, American Nuclear Society
- 2018, Excellent Paper Award, 9th World Congress in Industrial Process Tomography
- 2018 Best Paper Award, International Topical Meeting on Advances in Thermal Hydraulics 2018, ATH-2018
- 2017, Best Paper Award, 17th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-17)
- 2017 Ted Kennedy Family Faculty Team Excellence Award, University of Michigan
- 2016 Outstanding Achievement Award, Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Michigan
- 2016, Best Innovation Prize, CFD4NRS conference, MIT, Boston.
- 2016, DOE CASL Directors’ Award
- 2016, Finalist (2nd place) for DOE CASL Knight Award
- 2013, National Academy Kecks Futures Initiative Alumna