Team

Stephen S Raiman 

Assistant Professor, Nuclear Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering (affiliated)

sraiman@umich.edu

Dr. Raiman is interested in understanding how materials behave in extreme environments. Recent interests include material compatibility in molten salt reactors, hydrothermal corrosion in LWRs, high temperature alloy design and processing, irradiation-affected corrosion, and environmentally assisted cracking. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, he spent four years in the Materials Science and Technology division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He graduated from The University of Michigan in 2016 with a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences with a concentration in materials. He also holds a B.S. in Physics from the University at Buffalo.

Dr. Raiman lives in Ann Arbor with his toddler son Harris and infant daughter Florence (Flossy). He enjoys bicycling, badminton, and squash. He maintains a keen interest in environmental issues such as alternative transportation and sustainable cities.


Peng Wang

Associate Research Scientist
Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science

wpf@umich.edu

Peng received a First Class M. Eng. Degree in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and received a Ph.D. in Materials from the same institution in 2011. He joined the University of Michigan in 2012.

Dr. Wang’s research investigates the performance of nuclear fuels and their corrosion behavior in reactor environments. This research will improve understanding and predictions about the longevity of nuclear reactor fuel components and ultimately lead to the development of high-performance, radiation resistance materials for advanced nuclear fission reactors. His research is primarily funded by the US Department of Energy, Navel Nuclear Laboratory, Framatome, and the European Commission.


Adam Burak

Assistant Research Scientist
Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science

ajburak@umich.edu

Dr. Adam Burak’s main research interests are electrochemistry, molten salt chemistry, high-temperature advanced reactor systems, spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, and reactor thermal hydraulics. Dr. Burak earned his PhD in Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Utah studying uranium oxide reduction in molten lithium chloride-lithium oxide salt. Specifically, he studied the entrainment of lithium oxide in the reduced uranium product as a function of process parameters, and chloride salt chemistry.

Since completing his PhD, Dr. Burak has been working with Dr. Xiaodong Sun’s group in the Thermal Hydraulics Laboratory at the University of Michigan on research related to advanced nuclear reactors, including molten salt reactors and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. He has developed several experimental systems for investigating molten salt and high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technologies, advanced instrumentation for molten salts, and has over a decade of experience troubleshooting complex electronics/mechanical systems. Dr. Burak’s greatest strength lies in bringing advanced technologies from concept to reality by designing, constructing, testing, and optimizing experimental systems.


Connor Shamberger

Research Project Engineer
Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science

cshamber@umich.edu

Connor Shamberger is the Research Project Engineer at the MiHTEE Lab, with previous work experience in test engineering of polymer materials and a Bachelor of Science in Corrosion Engineering at the University of Akron. Connor has extensive experience building and maintaining autoclave systems for performing slow strain rate and crack-growth testing of neutron irradiated materials in simulated BWR and PWR reactor chemistries. He joins the MiHTEE lab to aid in the design experimental equipment, data collection systems, and operating procedures to further the MiHTEE Lab’s goals to understand materials in high temperatures and extreme environments.

Connor also manages the day-to-day operations in other facilities for the materials group:

  1. Hot Cells and Manipulators
  2. The High Temperature Corrosion Laboratory (HTCL)
  3. The Irradiated Materials Testing Laboratory (IMTL)
  4. Metallography Preparation Labs

Arpan Arora

Post Doc Researcher
Nuclear Science and Engineering

arpanar@umich.edu

Arpan received First class Master’s and PhD Degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. He worked as a researcher at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India and Titan company limited (TATA) India.

Dr. Arpan has strong background in Powder metallurgy and Engineering with more than 8 years’ experience in the research domain of Alloy development, Material characterization, Mechanical testing, Wear, Corrosion, Proton Irradiation and Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking.


Mohammad Umar Farooq Khan

Post Doc Researcher
Nuclear Engineering

mufkhan@umich.edu

Dr. Khan’s recent research includes molten salt electrochemistry, development of alloys resistant to molten salt corrosion, environment-assisted cracking, and electroplating to facilitate diffusion studies in alloys. He worked for a year as a visiting researcher in the department of Materials Science & Engineering at North Carolina State University before coming to the University of Michigan. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Akron. Prior to his doctoral studies, he worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB). He also holds a master’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science with a specialization in corrosion from IITB and a bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Raipur.

Apart from research, Dr. Khan enjoys photography while exploring nature. He pursues various sporting activities including skating, snowboarding, and soccer. He also enjoys cooking and experiencing new cuisines.


Reid Bohanon

PhD Student
reid.bohanon@tamu.edu

Reid’s research is focused on the effects of ionizing radiation on diffusion in solid materials. Reid received a B.S. in Physics with a Biomedical Emphasis and a minor in Chemistry from the University of Utah in Spring 2019. Outside of research, Reid’s enjoys forest walks, climbing mountains, flying small aircraft, and good weather (instrument flight plans are a hassle). 


Brian Carpman 

PhD Student
carpman@umich.edu

Born & raised in Houston Texas, he studied Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University. He now works on molten salt corrosion of ultra high temperature ceramics as a NERS PhD student. In his free time he enjoys cooking, 3D modeling, gaming, and tinkering.


Adam Eichorn  

PhD Student
adamx@umich.edu

Adam was born in Ames, Iowa, where he attended Iowa State University to earn his Bachelor’s in Materials Engineering. He continues his education at the University of Michigan to earn his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering. His project focuses on irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking in light water nuclear reactors. In his free time, Adam plays racquetball, bikes, camps, rock climbs, and listens to Tigers baseball.


Diego Macias 

PhD Student
dmacias@umich.edu

Diego went to Texas A&M where he earned his degree in Material Science and Engineering and is currently a Ph.D student. He is currently working to better understanding where fissile materials go during the operation of a molten salt reactor and overall is interested in extreme environment corrosion. Born and raised in Houston, Diego supports the Dynamo, Texans, Rockets and Astros for better or worse but above all else Diego always looks forward to watching his Aggies.


Diego Muzquiz 

PhD Student
muzquiz@umich.edu

Diego Muzquiz was born in San Antonio Texas and graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelors in Nuclear Engineering. He is currently furthering his career by earning his PhD at the University of Michigan. Diego’s research focuses on testing beryllium carbides tolerance to radiation damage for advance reactor moderator applications. Major focuses of his work include manufacturing, heavy ion irradiation, and microscopy including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Along with that, Diego works closely with the Michigan Ion Beam Lab (MIBL) to expand his research capabilities. As a pastime Diego loves to run marathons, triathlons and stay active outside in whatever way possible. 


Crewse Peterson

PhD Student
crewsep@umich.edu

Crewse Petersen earned his bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences. Crewse’s research focuses on understanding high entropy alloy behavior in extreme irradiation and corrosive environments. Crewse enjoys being outdoors, especially hiking and backpacking. He also loves playing and watching soccer, especially supporting his favorite soccer team, Borussia Dortmund.


Elise Shauf

PhD Student
eshauf@umich.edu

Elise Shauf graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas A&M University in Spring 2022 with her Bachelor’s Degree in Honors Nuclear Engineering and a minor in Radiological Health and Safety. Elise is pursuing her PhD at the University of Michigan. Her current project is related to chloride molten salt corrosion for defense application.

In her free time, she enjoys reading, fishing, crocheting, and playing with Nebula and Halley, her cats.


Zhenyu Fei

PhD Student
fzy@umich.edu

Zhenyu Fei recently focus on stress corrosion cracking of different accident tolerant fuel materials by gas pressure loaded and in-situ corrosion in autoclave and characterize by Transmission Electron Microscope. He led an interdisciplinary environmental project about direct carbon capture by spent fuel dry cask and he also worked on the in-situ irradiation microstructural evolution of Mo-La alloy program. When he took his nuclear engineering program in Oregon State University, he used laser shock peening and electrodeposition to create high performance multilayer composite alloy materials.

In his life, Fei has a wide range of interests, such as reading novels and poetry, attending art shows and concerts, participating in outdoor and extreme sports, and traveling to different places to try local cuisines.


Dekota Thies 

PhD Student
thiesed@umich.edu

Dekota Thies was born in Muskegon, Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2023 with a bachelors in Materials Science and Engineering. In his Masters he plans on continuing to grow his knowledge of metallurgy and corrosion as he investigates cracking in molten salt facing components in molten salt reactors. In his free time, he enjoys reading, playing board games and spending time with friends and family.