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G. Ivan Maldonado headshot in Zeanah Engineering Building

G. Ivan Maldonado

Professor

Biography

Dr. G. Ivan Maldonado is a Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee (UT) Department of Nuclear Engineering and Fellow of the American Nuclear Society (ANS).  He has been affiliated with the US nuclear industry for more than 30 years, with expertise in computational modeling and simulation of current and next-generation nuclear reactors and specialization in nuclear fuel management optimization.  He has led a multitude of research and instructional projects with students at three universities (Iowa State U., U. of Cincinnati, and UT) with colleagues nationally and internationally, while mentoring 22 PhD and 48 MS degrees in the process.  Past projects have involved core neutronics for PWRs, BWRs, SMRs, CANDUs, VVERs, FHR (salt-cooled), MSRs, and most recent fusion reactors. Dr. Maldonado has published over 230 peer-reviewed publications with his students and was a former Technical Program Manager with GE Nuclear Energy / Global Nuclear Fuels in support of core/bundle design, licensing, and operational management of BWR reactors nationally and internationally. 


Research

Reactor physics, in-core fuel management, fuel cycle and isotopic analysis, advanced reactors, fusion neutronics and multi-physics.


Education

PhD, Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 1993
Minor: Computational Applied Mathematics

MNE, Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 1988
Minor: Materials Science and Engineering

BS, Engineering Physics, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 1985
Minor: Nuclear Engineering


Professional Service

Dr. Maldonado has been a consultant to the US NRC ACRS, Guest Editor to the Progress in Nuclear Energy and Annals of Nuclear Energy journals, served as Technical Program Chair and Division Chair for the ANS Reactor Physics Division (RPD), and co-General Chair for PHYSOR 2012, as well as TPC for ANFM and most recently as the General Chair for ANFM 2025.


Awards and Recognitions

  • 2024 Promoted to ANS Fellow by the American Nuclear Society
  • 2024 General Chair, Advances in Nuclear Fuel Management (ANFM-2025)
  • 2023 Superior Paper Award, WM2023 Symposium (w/ Jonathan Wing)
  • 2022 UT Tickle College of Engineering Research Achievement Award
  • 2019, Mentor to Top UT NE Senior Design Team Selected as 2019 ANS Finalist
  • 2018, Guest Editor, Annals of Nuclear Energy, PHYSOR 2018 Special Issue
  • 2017, Awarded Full Professorship at The University of Tennessee
  • 2017, DOE Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research Award (w/ Troy Eckleberry)
  • 2017, UT College of Engineering Research Achievement Award
  • 2016, DOE Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research Award (w/ Nick Luciano)
  • 2012, Awarded Early Tenure at The University of Tennessee
  • 2012, UT College of Engineering Research Fellow Award
  • 2012, DOE Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research Award (w/ Cole Gentry)
  • 2012, DOE Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research Award (w/ Nathan George)
  • 2012, General Co-Chair, 2012, PHYSOR Conference, Knoxville, TN
  • 2011, Best Paper, 2011 COMSOL Conference (w/ David Chandler)
  • 2010-11, Chair, American Nuclear Society, Reactor Physics Division
  • 2007-10, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Chair, ANS Reactor Physics Division

Publications

Select list of publications. For the full list, view his Google Scholar page.

S.N. Quang, J.F. Wing, N.R. Brown, G.I. Maldonado (2023), “Activation Analysis for the Inboard Region of FNSF Using SERPENT,” Fusion Science and Technology,” DOI: 10.1080/15361055.2023.2185043.

F.S. Novais, N.R. Brown, G.I. Maldonado (2023), “Tritium Breeding Ratio Evaluation of Solid Breeder Concepts for the FESS-FNSF,” Fusion Science and Technology, DOI: 10.1080/15361055.2022.2161263.

M. Rizk, F.S. Novais, N.R. Brown, G.I. Maldonado (2023) Radiation Damage Analysis of FNSF Components Using McCad and MCNP, Fusion Science and Technology, DOI: 10.1080/15361055.2022.2140580.

J. Rhodes, G.I. Maldonado, “Modeling dose rate increase from the addition of Uranium-232 for use as a tracer in uranium fuels,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Volume 188, 2022,110385, ISSN 0969-8043, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2022.110385.

J. Rhodes, G.I. Maldonado, “Exploration of producing Uranium-232 for use as a tracer in uranium fuels,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Volume 186, 2022, 110275, ISSN 0969-8043, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2022.110275.

N. Meehan, G.I. Maldonado, N.R. Brown, “Demonstration of RELAP5-3D for transient analysis of a dual coolant lead lithium fusion blanket concept,” Fusion Engineering and Design, Volume 180, 2022, 113192, ISSN 0920-3796, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113192.

M.S. Tillack, S.A. Bringuier, I. Holmes, L. Holland, F. Santos-Novais, G.I. Maldonado, “GAMBL – A dual-cooled fusion blanket using SiC-based structures,” Fusion Engineering and Design, Volume 180, 2022,113155, ISSN 0920-3796, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113155.

M. O'Neal, S.B. Seo, G.I. Maldonado, N.R. Brown, “Assessment of BISON capabilities for component-level prediction of tritium transport in fusion and fission applications,” Fusion Engineering and Design, Volume 175, 2022, 112996, ISSN 0920-3796, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2021.112996.

R.Z. Taylor, R.K. Salko, R. Graham, B.S. Collins, G.I. Maldonado, “Implementation of Two-Phase Gas Transport into VERA for Molten Salt Reactor Analysis,” Annals of Nuclear Energy165doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2021.108672, Jan. 2022.

R.Z. Taylor, B.S. Collins, and G. Ivan Maldonado, “Exponential Time Differencing Schemes for Fuel Depletion and Transport in Molten Salt Reactors: Theory and Implementation,” Nuclear Science and Engineering, DOI: 10.1080/00295639.2021.1996197, Dec. 2021.

G. Ivan Maldonado headshot in Zeanah Engineering Building

Contact Information