Tatsuya Sakurahara

Tatsuya Sakurahara
Tatsuya Sakurahara
  • Research Assistant Professor
(217) 244-7546
124 Talbot Laboratory

For More Information

Education

  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, PhD, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, 2018
  • University of Tokyo, MS, Nuclear Engineering and Management, 2013
  • University of Tokyo, BS, Environment and Energy Systems Engineering, 2011

Biography

Dr. Tatsuya Sakurahara is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the associate director of research and education at the Socio-Technical Risk Analysis (SoTeRiA) Research Laboratory. His research focuses on advancing Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) methodologies and applications for operating nuclear power plants as well as advanced reactors. Tatsuya is a recipient of the 2022 George Apostolakis Fellowship from the International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management.

Sakurahara holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His Ph.D. research developed an Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment (I-PRA) methodological framework for Fire PRA of nuclear power plants by coupling a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) fire model with a human performance model for fire crew and integrating the fire-human coupling with the plant PRA model. For I-PRA, he also developed advanced techniques for importance measure analysis, the simulation-informed common cause failure modeling, and the Probabilistic Validation methodology for comprehensive uncertainty analysis. Sakurahara holds an M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering and Management and a B.S. in Environment and Energy System Engineering from the University of Tokyo.

Academic Positions

  • 2021-Present, Faculty Affiliate, Illinois Informatics Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • 2020-Present, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Resident Instruction

  • NPRE 561: Advanced Risk Analysis for Technological Systems, Spring 2023

Research Interests

  • Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)
  • Integrated static-dynamic PRA
  • Probabilistic Physics-of-Failure (PPoF) analysis
  • Human Reliability Analysis (HRA)
  • Risk-informed analysis for advanced nuclear reactors
  • Risk Analysis and Management for Fusion Power Reactors
  • Risk importance measure
  • Uncertainty quantification
  • Sensitivity analysis
  • Fire PRA
  • Common Cause Failure (CCF) analysis

Research Areas

  • Risk and Policy

Selected Articles in Journals

Articles in Conference Proceedings

  • B. Pequette, T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, "Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) for Nuclear Power Plants: Regulatory Perspectives and Considerations," American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2024 Student Conference, State College, PA, (2024)
  • R. Fisher, S. Fargusson, J. Mitstifer, J. Beal, H. Bui, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, "On Modeling Human-Digital Twin Interactions and their Safety Risk Impact in Nuclear Power Plants," Proceedings of Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (PSAM) Topical Meeting on Artificial Intelligence and Risk Analysis, Online Conference, (2023)
  • W.-C. Cheng, S. Reihani, T. Sakurahara, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “Spatiotemporal Probabilistic Physics-of-Failure Analysis in Modeling Interconnections of Safety and Financial Performance of Nuclear Power Plants,” American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2022 Student Conference, Urbana, IL, 2022
  • S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “I-PRA Risk-Cost Informed Decision-Making Algorithm for Nuclear Power Plants,” Proceedings of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2021 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2021), Online Virtual Conference, 2021
  • S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, B. Ratte, K. Kaspar, M.A. Billings, S. Hunt, “Methodological and Computational Developments for Fire Scenario Selection and Analysis in Fire PRA of Nuclear Power Plants,” Proceedings of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2021 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2021), Online Virtual Conference, 2021
  • A. Roy, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “Managing Unexpected Failures of Nuclear Power Plants by Quantifying Uncertainty of Organizational Impacts on Probabilistic Risk Assessment,” Proceedings of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2021 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2021), Online Virtual Conference, 2021
  • K. Shimada, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, Integration of Evacuation Simulation with a Level 3 PRA Code for Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2020 Asian Symposium on Risk Assessment and Management Conference (ASRAM2020), Online Virtual Conference, 2020
  • J. Yang, J. Pence, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, C. Blake, Z. Mohaghegh, Equipping Machine Learning with Uncertainty Quantification to Update Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants using NRC Licensee Event Reports, Proceedings of 2020 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Online Virtual Conference, 2020
  • H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, J. Biersdorf, Z. Mohaghegh, I-PRA Uncertainty Importance Ranking to Enhance Fire PRA Realism for Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2020 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Virtual Conference, 2020
  • W.-C. Cheng, J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrated Probabilistic Physics of Failure Methodology to Estimate Pipe Failure Rates for Risk-Informed Analysis of Advanced Nuclear Reactors, Proceedings of 2020 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Online Virtual Conference, 2020
  • J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, E. Kee, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrated Enterprise Risk Management to Synchronize Safety and Profitability Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2020 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Online Virtual Conference, 2020
  • P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Risk-Informed Analysis of Nuclear Power Plant FLEX Storage Building, Proceedings of 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020
  • J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, An Algorithm for Risk-Informed Analysis of Advanced Reactors with a Case Study of Pipe Failure Rate Estimation, Proceedings of 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020
  • S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, B. Ratte, Z. Mohaghegh, Academia-Industry Collaboration to Advance Screening Processes in Fire PRA of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020
  • T. Sakurahara, H. Bui, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Enhancing Realism in Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & the 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020
  • H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, J. Biersdorf, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment (I-PRA) Importance Ranking for Fire PRA of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2019 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Washington D.C., 2019
  • J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, J. Pence, P. Farshadmanesh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Coupling Degradation and Maintenance to Model Safety Risk and Financial Risk Under An Integrated Enterprise Risk Management Methodology for Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 25th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (SMiRT 25), Charlotte, NC, 2019
  • T. Sakurahara, G. Schumock, T. Murase, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Spatio-Temporal Probabilistic Methodology and Computational Platform for Common Cause Failure Modeling in Risk Analysis, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society (ANS) International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
  • T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Modeling the Interface of Manual Fire Protection Actions with Fire Progression in Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
  • T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Global Importance Measure Methodology for Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
  • T. Sakurahara, H. Bui, J. Pence, W.-C. Cheng, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, S. Reihani, M. Wortman, V. Moiseytseva, F. Yilmaz, D. Johnson, Protective Systems: Possible Extensions to the RoverD Method, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
  • H.H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, J. Pence, Z. Gu, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, M. Wortman, E. Kee, V. Moiseytseva, D. Johnson, Protective Systems: Definitions and Terms in the Regulated Risk Assessment Setting, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
  • H.H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, W.-C. Cheng, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, T. Crook, R. Vaghetto, M. Wortman, D. Munoz, D. Johnson, W. Schulz, F. Yilmaz, V. Moiseytseva, Protective Systems: An Application of Regulatory Guidance for ECCS Sump Performance, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
  • W.-C. Cheng, C.-H. Ding, N. O’Shea, T. Sakurahara, G. Schumock, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Global Sensitivity Analysis to Rank Parameters of Stress Corrosion Cracking in the Spatio-Temporal Probabilistic Model of Loss of Coolant Accident Frequencies, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
  • T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, M. Brandyberry, E. Kee, S. Rodgers, M.A. Billings, Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment (I-PRA) Methodology to Advance Fire Risk Modeling in Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of Annual European Safety and Reliability Conference 2015 (ESREL2015), Zürich, Switzerland, 2015
  • T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, M. Brandyberry, E. Kee, D. Johnson, S. Rodgers, M.A. Billings, Developing a New Fire PRA Framework by Integrating Probabilistic Risk Assessment with a Fire Simulation Module, Proceedings of 12th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (PSAM12), Honolulu, HI, 2014
  • T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, M. Ertem, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, Analyzing Importance Measure Methodologies for Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment in Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 12th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (PSAM12), Honolulu, HI, 2014
  • T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, S. Rodgers, M. Brandyberry, R. Kazemi, S. Reihani, A New Integrated Framework to Advance Fire Probabilistic Risk Analysis of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2013 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Risk Management Topical Meeting, Washington, D.C., 2013

Abstracts (in print or accepted)

  • H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “Probabilistic Validation Methodology for Probabilistic Risk Assessment,” Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16), Honolulu, HI, 2022
  • J. Beal, W.-C. Cheng, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “A Systematic Enterprise Risk Management Framework for Modeling the Interactions of Safety and Financial Performance in Nuclear Power Plants,” Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16), Honolulu, HI, 2022
  • T. Sakurahara, S. Alkhatib, M. Albati, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, T.L.v. Thaden, R. Kesler, F. Masoud, K. Kaspar, B. Ratté, M.A. Billings, “Academia-Industry Collaboration to Advance Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants,” Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16), Honolulu, HI, 2022
  • T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, “Risk-informed Analysis for Advanced Nuclear Power Reactors: Pipe Reliability Case Study and Lessons Learned,” Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16) Honolulu, HI, 2022
  • J. Pence, J. Yang, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, “Theory-Guided Machine Learning for Licensee Event Reports of U.S. Nuclear Power Plants to Quantify Organizational Factors in Probabilistic Risk Assessment,” Abstract Presented at the 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020

Reports

Journal Editorships

  • Review Editor, Frontiers in Energy Research

Teaching Honors

  • Teaching Excellence Awards, Illinois Student Government, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (April 2017 )

Research Honors

  • George Apostolakis Fellowship, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM) (June 2022)

Recent Courses Taught

  • NPRE 561 - Advanced Risk Analysis

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