The Grainger College of Engineering
Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering

Ha Hoang Bui

Ha Hoang Bui
Ha Hoang Bui
Research Scientist
124 Talbot Laboratory

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Education

  • Ph.D. in Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2022
  • M.S. in Nuclear Power Plant Engineering, KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, South Korea, 2014
  • B.E. in Environmental Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam, 2009

Academic Positions

  • Associate Director, Socio-Technical Risk Analysis (SoTeRiA) Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE), 2023–present
  • Research Scientist, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE), 2023–present
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE), 2022–2023

Other Professional Employment

  • Head, Overseas Representative Office, Power Engineering Consulting JSC No. 2 (PECC2), Vietnam Electricity, Vietnam, Jul. 2021 – Dec. 2023
  • Deputy Director, Digital Capability Center, Power Engineering Consulting JSC No. 2 (PECC2), Vietnam Electricity, Vietnam, Apr. 2021 – Jul. 2022
  • Deputy Manager, Nuclear & Thermal Engineering Dept., Power Engineering Consulting JSC No. 2 (PECC2), Vietnam Electricity, Vietnam, Feb. 2014 – Mar. 2021
  • Engineer, Environmental Engineering Dept. and Nuclear & Thermal Engineering Dept., Power Engineering Consulting JSC No. 2 (PECC2), Vietnam Electricity, Vietnam, Jan. 2009 – Feb. 2012

Resident Instruction

  • NPRE 561: Advanced Risk Analysis for Technological Systems, graduate course, Guest Lecturer, UIUC, Spring 2025
  • NPRE 461: Probabilistic Risk Assessment, undergraduate/graduate course, Guest Lecturer, UIUC, Fall 2024 and Fall 2025
  • NPRE 200: Math for Nuclear Engineering, undergraduate course, Guest Lecturer, UIUC, Fall 2022

Short Courses

  • Invited Lecture, "A Discourse on Regulatory Approaches for Small Modular and Advanced Reactors," Nuclear Education, Skills, and Technology (NEST) Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Project of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development-Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD-NEA) Workshop, Idaho National Laboratory, 2022
  • Invited Lecture, "Modeling, Simulation & Validation in Risk-Informed Analysis of Existing Plants & Advanced Reactors," Modeling, Experiment, and Validation (MeV) Summer School, Idaho National Laboratory, 2023
  • Invited Lecture, "A Discourse on Regulatory Approaches for Deployment of Advanced Reactors," Nuclear Education, Skills, and Technology (NEST) Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Project of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development-Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD-NEA) Workshop, Idaho National Laboratory, 2023

Research Interests

  • Risk-informed decision-making and risk-informed policymaking for the safety and economic viability of complex technological systems
  • Digital twins & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based automation trustworthiness and transparency
  • Verification, validation & uncertainty quantification (VVUQ)
  • Modeling & simulation of human and physical failure phenomena
  • Human reliability analysis
  • Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) for conventional power plants and advanced nuclear reactors

Research Areas

  • Reliability and Risk
  • Risk and Policy

Selected Articles in Journals

  • H. Khalid, H. Bui, A. Al Rashdan, R. L. Boring, Z. Mohaghegh. "Automation Transparency: A Literature Review, Methodology Development, and Application to an AI-Driven Anomaly Detection System in Nuclear Power Plants." Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability, 2026.
  • J. Beal, S. Fargusson, H. Bui, S. Reihani, H. Khalid, Z. Mohaghegh. "Developing temporal coupling of human performance, physical twin, and digital twin models for probabilistic risk assessment in nuclear power plants." Nuclear Engineering and Design, Is. 447, pp. 114620, 2026.
  • J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, H. Bui, Z. Mohaghegh. "Uncertainty-based Validation of Maintenance-Physical Degradation Coupled Models in the Absence of Maintenance Performance Data: Application for Nuclear Power Plant Piping Reliability Analysis." ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems Part B: Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 12, Is. 1, pp. 11204, 2025.
  • M. Albati, H. Bui, S. Reihani, V. Yadav, D. Mandelli, Z. Mohaghegh. "Integrated Human Reliability Analysis (I-HRA) Methodology for External Control Room (Ex-CR) Emergency Response Scenarios: Application to Modeling FLEX Human Actions in Nuclear Power Plants." ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part B, Vol. 11, Is. 4, pp. 41208, 2025.
  • H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh. "Probabilistic Validation: Computational Platform and Application to Fire PRA of Nuclear Power Plants." ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part B, Vol. 10, Is. 2, pp. 021202, 2024.
  • H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh. "Probabilistic Validation: Theoretical Foundation and Methodological Platform." ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part B, Vol. 9, Is. 2, pp. 021204, 2023.
  • H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh. "Spatiotemporal integration of an agent-based first responder performance model with a fire hazard propagation model for probabilistic risk assessment of nuclear power plants." ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems: Part B. Mechanical Engineering, Special Issue on Human Performance & Decision-making in Complex Industrial Environments, Vol. 6, Is. 1, pp. 011011, 2020.
  • H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, J. Pence, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh. "An algorithm for enhancing spatiotemporal resolution of probabilistic risk assessment to address emergent safety concerns in nuclear power plants." Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 185, pp. 405-428, 2019.

Honors

  • Recognition for Excellence in Leadership as Deputy General Chair of the Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (PSAM) International Topical Meeting on "Artificial Intelligence & Risk Analysis for Probabilistic Safety/Security Assessment & Management," International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM) (2023)
  • Covid-19 Wall of Recognition in Engineering for those who went "above and beyond" to contribute to research and development during the pandemic, UIUC Grainger College of Engineering (2021)
  • President's Award for outstanding academic achievement, KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Class of 2014 (2014)
  • Korean Nuclear Society (KNS) Scholarship for outstanding graduate students from nuclear-related departments, South Korea (2013)