Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Biography
Braden Goddard is an associate professor and the director of the Nuclear Engineering Program in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Missouri. In his current position he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on multiple topics in mechanical and nuclear engineering and performs applied research. He is also responsible for overseeing all nuclear engineering programmatic activities. The primary focus of his research is on radiation measurements, nuclear nonproliferation and isotope production. This effort has resulted in teaching and co-teaching 18 different courses and supervising 112 researchers (high school students though visiting faculty), funded by 19 external grants totaling $5.2M to just Goddard’s research group.
Prior to joining the University of Missouri, Goddard worked at domestic and international industries, national laboratories and academia. These locations include TXU Energy where he updated the fidelity of the pressurized water reactor plant simulator; the University of Tokyo where he performed experiments with two phase fluid flow; Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he developed new methodologies for quantifying actinide compositions for international safeguards applications; the Nevada National Security Site, where he served as an emergency responder developing radiation detection and identification techniques and deploying to national events to survey for radioactive materials; Khalifa University, where he trained the next generation of Emirati nuclear engineers and set up and managed multiple radiation measurement-based laboratories; Abu Dhabi Customs, where he served as an emergency reachback scientist, adjudicating radiation alarms created when shipping cargo entered the country through Khalifa Port; and Virginia Commonwealth University, where he established a world-renowned research group focused on radiation measurements, simulations and nonproliferation, controlling 5 different laboratories that spanned 3,250 ft2 of laboratory space with an annual research expenditure of $1,300,000.
He received his BS MS and PhD in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a senior member of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM), founding faculty advisor for the INMM-VCU student chapter, INMM deputy chair for the materials control and accountability division and associate editor for the Journal of Nuclear Materials Management. He is also a World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) Certified Nuclear Security Professional (CNSP) and served as a mentor for the 2022 World Nuclear University Summer Institute. His research has been published and presented in over 200 international journals and conference papers.
Education
PhD in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University
MS in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University
PhD in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University