Walter Villanueva is a Reader in Nuclear Engineering at the School of Computer Science and Engineering, Bangor University. As a senior academic researcher, he leads investigations in thermal-hydraulics, severe accident analysis, and computational methods for nuclear safety. His research focuses on fundamental and applied aspects of nuclear engineering including: Experimental and computational analysis of melt infiltration and solidification phenomena Thermal-hydraulic behavior of reactor components under severe accident conditions Development of advanced CFD and machine learning methodologies for safety assessments Material interactions and degradation mechanisms in nuclear environments Recent publications demonstrate strong focus on: Validation and benchmarking of computational methods for molten pool convection Experimental characterization of erosion-corrosion in lead-cooled systems Machine learning applications for nuclear accident scenario analysis Multiphase flow phenomena in debris beds and particulate systems He currently leads multiple research projects including: Experimental Investigation of Singular Two-phase Pressure Losses (2024-2029) Innovative Structural Materials for Fission and Fusion - INNUMAT (2022-2026) Experiments on MHD affected forced convection in fusion-relevant systems (2023-2026) PhD Student Placement: Fibre Optic Measurement Capabilities (2024)






