Zahra Mohaghegh

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Biography

Zahra Mohaghegh is an Associate Professor and Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Scholar in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).  She is the Director of the Socio-Technical Risk Analysis (SoTeRiA) Research Laboratory at UIUC, advancing risk science and applications for the safety and economic viability of complex technological systems such as commercial nuclear power plants and advanced reactors, civil aviation, and oil industries. Mohaghegh has conducted research on probabilistic risk assessment, probabilistic physics of failure analysis, human-system reliability modeling, risk-informed decision-making, and uncertainty analysis, benefiting from grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, nuclear power industry, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. She received the National Science Foundation Mid-Career Achievement Award, the Dean's Award for Excellence in Research (both at the Assistant and Associate levels) from the College of Engineering at the UIUC, the George Apostolakis Award in risk assessment, and the American Nuclear Society Mary Jane Oestmann Professional Women’s Achievement Award for her pioneering in the introduction of human and organizational factors into the risk analysis of socio-technical systems in nuclear and other high-risk industries. Mohaghegh has consistently applied her expertise in nuclear risk analysis to a wide array of technological challenges, enhancing policymaking and regulation across sectors; for example, she served as a member of the Committee on “Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology” of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and is currently a member of the U.S. National Academies Committee on “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Coast Guard Certificate of Compliance Examination Program for Gas Carriers.”

Academic Positions

• 2024-present, Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Scholar, Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 2020-present, associate professor, Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 2015-present, part-time faculty, Beckman Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 2013-2020, assistant professor, Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Other Professional Employment

• Leader, risk management focus area, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) review panel of the Carbon Free Power Project for the first U.S. small modular reactor (SMR) plant, April 2023-July 2023
• Chief scientific investigator and U.S. representative, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) coordinated research project, “Methodology to Estimate Pipe Failure Rates for Risk-Informed Analysis in Advanced Water-Cooled Reactors,” 2018-2021
• Founder & principal research scientist, SoTeRiA Consultants, LLC, Boston, MA, 2010-2013 

Resident Instruction

• NPRE 461: Probabilistic Risk Assessment, Fall Semesters
• NPRE 561: Advanced Risk Analysis for Technological Systems, Spring Semesters
• NPRE 200: Math for Nuclear Engineers, Fall Semesters

Research Interests

• Socio-Technical Risk Analysis; probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) for conventional power plants and advanced nuclear reactors; probabilistic physics-of-failure analysis; human-system reliability modeling; uncertainty quantification; risk-informed policymaking for the safety and economic viability of complex technological systems

Books Authored or Co-Authored (Original Editions)

• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Reforming the Coast Guard's Certificate of Compliance Program for Liquefied Gas Carriers: Promoting Efficient Implementation and Safety Effectiveness, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2024
• International Atomic Energy Agency, Methodologies for Assessing Pipe Failure Rates in Advanced Water-Cooled Reactors, IAEA Nuclear Energy Series (NES) No.NR-T-2.16, IAEA, Vienna, 2023
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Evaluation of the Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2022
• International Atomic Energy Agency, Technical Insights from Benchmarking Different Methods for Predicting Pipe Failure Rates in Water Cooled Reactors, IAEA-TECDOC No. 1988, IAEA, Vienna, 2021

Selected Articles in Journals

• S, Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, and Z. Mohaghegh, “A Systematic Decision-Making Methodology to Formalize the Selection of Degree of Realism in Screening Analysis of Probabilistic Risk Assessment,” Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability, 2025 (Accepted)
• 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," ASME J. Risk Uncertainty Part B, 2025 (Accepted)
• Alkhatib, Sari, Tatsuya Sakurahara, Seyed Reihani, and Zahra Mohaghegh, "A novel methodology to scientifically justify the formulation of modeling assumptions in screening analysis of Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)." Annals of Nuclear Energy 214 (2025): 111237
• J. Beal, S. Reihani, T. Sakurahara, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, "Modeling Nuclear Power Plant Piping Reliability by Coupling Human Reliability Analysis-based Maintenance and Physical Degradation Models," Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 255, pp. 110655, 2025
• S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, B. Ratte, K. Kaspar, S. Hunt, Z. Mohaghegh, “Phenomenological Nondimensional Parameter Decomposition to Enhance the Use of Simulation Modeling in Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants,” Journal of Nuclear Engineering, Vol. 5, Issue 3, pp. 226-245, 2024
• M. Albati, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, T. Von Thaden, R. Kesler, F. Masoud, Z. Mohaghegh, “Uncertainty-Based Validation Methodology and Experimental Analysis for External Control Room Human Performance Simulation: Application to Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants,” Nuclear Science and Engineering, 1-20, 2024
• P. Farshadmanesh, J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, A. Rowell, F. Yilmaz, Z. Mohaghegh, “Modeling Interconnections of Safety and Financial Performance of Nuclear Power Plants, Part 1: Categorical Review and Theoretical Bases,” Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 171, pp. 105123, 2024
• J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, P. Farshadmanesh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, A. Rowell, F. Yilmaz, Z. Mohaghegh, “Modeling Interconnections of Safety and Financial Performance of Nuclear Power Plants, Part 2: Methodological Developments and Case Study,” Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 171, pp. 110243, 2024
• K. Shimada, T. Sakurahara, P. Farshadmanesh, S. Reihani, and Z. Mohaghegh, Integration of Level 3 Probabilistic Risk Assessment for Nuclear Power Plants with Transportation Simulation Considering Earthquake Hazards, Annals of Nuclear Energy, Vol. 197, pp. 110243, March 2024
• 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 Mech Engrg, Vol. 10, Is. 2, pp. 021202, 2023
• H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Probabilistic Validation: Theoretical Foundation and Methodological Platform, ASCE-ASME J Risk and Uncert in Engrg Sys Part B Mech Engrg, Vol. 9, Is. 2, pp. 021204, 2023
• J. Yang, J. Kim, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, C. Blake, Z. Mohaghegh, Uncertainty analysis on support vector machine for measuring organizational factors in probabilistic risk assessment of nuclear power plants, Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 153, pp. 104411, November 2022
• K. Heckmann, D.-H. Ahn, J. Beal, W.-C. Cheng, X. Duan, T. Jevremovic, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, B. Lydell, S. Reihani, T. Sakurahara, and M. Wang, Estimation of Pipe Failure Frequencies in the Absence of Operational Experience Data: A Pilot Study, Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 398, pp. 111990, 2022
• W.-C. Cheng, J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Modeling Interconnections of Safety and Financial Performance of Nuclear Power Plants, Part 3: Spatiotemporal Probabilistic Physics-of-Failure Analysis and Its Connection to Safety and Financial Performance, Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 153, pp. 104382, 2022
• J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, A discourse on the incorporation of organizational factors into probabilistic risk assessment: key questions & categorical review, Risk Analysis, Vol. 40, Is. 6, pp. 1183-1211, 2020
• G. Schumock, S. Zhang, P. Farshadmanesh, J.G. Owens, N. Kasza, J. Stearns, T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrated risk-informed design (I-RID) methodological framework and computational application for FLEX equipment storage buildings of nuclear power plants, Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 120, pp. 103186, 2020
• J. Pence, P. Farshadmanesh, J. Kim, C. Blake, Z. Mohaghegh, Data-theoretic approach for socio-technical risk analysis: text mining licensee event reports of U.S. nuclear power plants, Safety Science, Vol. 124, Is. Virtual Special Issue: Safety Analytics, pp. 104574, 2020
• W.C. Cheng, T. Sakurahara, S. Zhang, P. Farshadmanesh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, K. Heckmann, J. Sievers, B. Lydell, C. Zammali, X.-X. Yuan, X. Duan, R. Alzbutas, G.-G. Lee, J.A. Karim, V. Morozov, C. Takasugi, T. Jevremovic, Review and categorization of existing studies on the estimation of probabilistic failure metrics for reactor coolant pressure boundary piping and steam generator tubes in nuclear power plants, Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 118, pp. 103105, 2020
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, Human reliability analysis (HRA)-based method for manual fire suppression analysis in an integrated probabilistic risk assessment, 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. 011010, 2020
• 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
• T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Global importance measure methodology for integrated probabilistic risk assessment frameworks, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability, Vol. 234, Is. 2, pp. 377-396, 2019
• T. Sakurahara, N. O'Shea, W.-C. Cheng, S. Zhang, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrating renewal process modeling with probabilistic physics-of-failure: Application for estimation of loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) frequencies in nuclear power plants, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 190, 2019
• 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
• J. Pence, T. Sakurahara, X. Zhu, Z. Mohaghegh, M. Ertem, C. Ostroff, E. Kee, Data-theoretic methodology and computational platform to quantify organizational factors in socio-technical risk analysis, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 185, pp. 240-260, 2019
• T. Sakurahara, G. Schumock, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Simulation-informed probabilistic methodology for common cause failure analysis, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 185, pp. 84-99, 2019
• P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Shake-RoverD framework for nuclear power plants: A streamlined approach for seismic risk assessment, Nuclear Technology, Vol. 205, Is. 3, pp. 442-463, 2019
• J. Pence, I. Miller, T. Sakurahara, J. Whitacre, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, GIS-based integration of social vulnerability and level 3 probabilistic risk assessment to advance emergency preparedness, planning, and response for severe nuclear power plant accidents, Risk Analysis, Vol. 39, Is. 6, pp. 1262-1280, 2018
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Methodological and practical comparison of integrated probabilistic risk assessment (I-PRA) with the existing fire PRA of nuclear power plants, Nuclear Technology, Vol. 204, Is. 3, pp. 354-377, 2018
• J. Pence, M. Abolhelm, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, M. Ertem, E. Kee, Methodology to evaluate the monetary benefit of probabilistic risk assessment by modeling the net value of risk-informed applications at nuclear power plants, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 175, pp. 171-182, 2018
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, M. Brandyberry, S. Rodgers, An integrated methodology for spatio-temporal incorporation of underlying failure mechanisms into fire probabilistic risk assessment of nuclear power plants, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 169, pp. 242-257, 2018
• E. Kee, J. Hasenbein, A. Zolan, P. Grissom, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, F. Yilmaz, B. Letellier, V. Moiseytseva, R. Vaghetto, D. Imbaratto, T. Sakurahara, RoverD: Use of test data in GSI-191 risk assessment, Nuclear Technology, Vol. 196, Is. 2, pp. 270-291, 2016
• Z. Mohaghegh, R. Kazemi, A. Mosleh, Incorporating organizational factors into probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of complex socio-technical systems: A hybrid technique formalization, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 94, Is. 5, pp. 1000-1018, 2009
• Z. Mohaghegh, A. Mosleh, Incorporating organizational factors into probabilistic risk assessment of complex socio-technical systems: principles and theoretical foundations, Safety Science, Vol. 47, Is. 8, pp. 1139-1158, 2009
• Z. Mohaghegh, A. Mosleh, Measurement techniques for organizational safety causal models: Characterization and suggestions for enhancements, Safety Science, Vol. 47, Is. 10, pp. 1398-1409, 2009

Articles in Conference Proceedings

• M. Albati, Md Ahmed,  H. Bui, S. Reihani, H. Liao, J. Anderson, and Z. Mohaghegh, "Simulation-Informed Dependency Treatment to Enhance Operational Flexibility, Avoid Production Loss, and Maintain Safety of Operating Plants and Advanced Reactors" Proceedings of the19th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2025), American Nuclear Society, June 15-18, 2025, Chicago, IL, USA
• G. Joslin, A. Rowell, H. Bui, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, "Understanding Uncertainties in the Regulation of Advanced Nuclear Power Reactors: Legal and Technological Revolutions," Proceedings of the19th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2025), American Nuclear Society, June 15-18, 2025, Chicago, IL, USA.​​​​​
• M. H. Khalid, H. Bui, A. Al Rashdan, S. Reihani, and Z. Mohaghegh, " Automation Trustworthiness and Transparency in Nuclear Power Plants: Definitions, Methodologies, and Case Studies," Proceedings of the19th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2025), American Nuclear Society, June 15-18, 2025, Chicago, IL, USA
• S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, and Z. Mohaghegh, "Guiding the Formulation of Surrogate Values of Modeling Input Parameters in Screening Analysis of Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)," Proceedings of the19th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2025), American Nuclear Society, June 15-18, 2025, Chicago, IL, USA
• S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, and Z. Mohaghegh, "Predictive Decision-Making in Support of the Selection of Degree of Realism in Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)," Proceedings of the19th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2025), American Nuclear Society, June 15-18, 2025, Chicago, IL, USA
• M.H. Khalid, J. Beal, H. Bui, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, "Interactions of Human Performance, Physical Failure Mechanisms, and Organizational Factors in Socio-Technical Risk Analysis of Complex Technological Systems," Proceedings of the19th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2025), American Nuclear Society, June 15-18, 2025, Chicago, IL, USA
•  M. Khalid, H. Bui, A. Rashdan, Z. Mohaghegh, On the Definitions of Automation Trustworthiness and Automation Transparency in Nuclear Power Domain, Proceeding for the ANS Winter Conference and Expo in Orlando, FL, 2024
•  M. Albati, H. Bui, S. Reihani, and Z. Mohaghegh, “Development of a spatiotemporal Integrated Human Reliability Analysis (I-HRA) method", Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management & Asian Symposium on Risk Assessment and Management (PSAM 17 & ASRAM 2024), Miyagi, Japan, 2024
•  Ha Bui, Hammad Khalid, Tatsuya Sakurahara, Seyed Reihani, Zahra Mohaghegh. 2024. “Probabilistic Validation Methodology for Probabilistic Risk Assessment: Overview, Status, and Future Research Directions.” Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management & Asian Symposium on Risk Assessment and Management (PSAM 17 & ASRAM 2024). Miyagi, Japan, 2024
• E. Kee, D. Johnson, R. Fisher, H. Bui, P. Farshadmanesh, and Z. Mohaghegh. “Engineering & Environmental Justice: Protections, Hazards, And Technological Systems,” American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME), International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE 2023), 2023
• Morasca, M., S. Fargusson, B. Scott, H. Bui, P. Farshadmanesh, and Z. Mohaghegh. "The Incorporation of Digital Twin Models into Maintenance Operations in Nuclear Power Plants." 2023 American Nuclear Society student conference, 2023
• J. Beal, W.-C. Cheng, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, and 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, 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
• 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
• 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
• T. Sakurahara, S. Alkhatib, M. Albati, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, T.L.v. Thaden, R. Kesler, F. Masoud, K. Kaspar, B. Ratte, 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
• A. Roy, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Managing Unexpected Failures of Nuclear Power Plants by Incorporating Organizational Factors into Probabilistic Risk Assessment, Proceedings of the 2021 ANS International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2021), Virtual Conference, 2021
• S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, B. Ratte, Z. Mohaghegh, I-PRA Risk- and Cost-Informed Decision-Making Algorithm for Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of the 2021 ANS International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2021), 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 2021 ANS International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2021), 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 the 2020 Asian Symposium on Risk Assessment and Management Conference (ASRAM 2020), Online Virtual Conference, 2020
• T. Sakurahara, H. Bui, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Enhancing realism in fire probabilistic risk assessment of nuclear power plants, Proceeding of the 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL) and the 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (PSAM) Conference, Venice, Italy, 2020
• J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, E. Kee, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, An algorithm for risk-informed analysis of advanced reactors with a case study of pipe failure rate estimation, Proceeding of the 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL) and the 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (PSAM) Conference, Venice, Italy, 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. In: Transactions of American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, Chicago, IL, 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. In: Transactions of American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, Chicago, IL, 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 reactors. In: Transactions of American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, Chicago, IL, 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, Proceeding of the 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL) and the 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (PSAM) Conference, Venice, Italy, 2020
• P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Risk-informed analysis of nuclear power plant FLEX storage building, Proceeding of the 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL) and the 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (PSAM) Conference, Venice, Italy, 2020
• Pence, J., J. Yang, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, and Z. Mohaghegh, Theory-Guided Machine Learning for Licensee Event Reports of U.S. Nuclear Power Plants to Quantify Organizational Factors in Probabilistic Risk Assessment, The 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference, The 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL 2020 PSAM 15). Venice, Italy, 2020
• J. Yang, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, J. Pence, 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. In: Transactions of American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, Chicago, IL, 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. In: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, Washington, DC, USA, 2019
• J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, J. Pence, P. Farshadmanesh, 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, The 25th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (SMiRT 25), Charlotte, NC, 2019
• 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 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2017, American Nuclear Society, Pittsburgh, PA, September 24-28, 2017
• H. Bui, J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Spatio-temporal socio-technical risk analysis methodology: An application in emergency response, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2017, American Nuclear Society, Pittsburgh, PA, September 24-28, 2017
• W.C. Cheng, C. 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 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2017, American Nuclear Society, Pittsburgh, PA, September 24-28, 2017
• 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 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2017, American Nuclear Society, Pittsburgh, PA, September 24-28, 2017
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Global importance measure methodology for integrated probabilistic risk assessment, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2017, American Nuclear Society, Pittsburgh, PA, September 24-28, 2017
• J. Pence, Y. Sun, X. Zhu, Z. Mohaghegh, C. Ostroff, E. Kee, Data-theoretic methodology and computational platform for the quantification of organizational mechanisms in probabilistic risk assessment, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2017, American Nuclear Society, Pittsburgh, PA, September 24-28, 2017
• 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 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2017, American Nuclear Society, Pittsburgh, PA, September 24-28, 2017
• H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, W.C. Cheng, T. Crook, R. Vaghetto, M. Wortman, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, D. Munoz, D. Johnson, W. Schulz, F. Yilmaz, V. Moiseytseva, Protective systems: An application of regulatory guidance for ECCS sump performance, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2017, American Nuclear Society, Pittsburgh, PA, September 24-28, 2017
• T. Sakurahara, H.B. Hoang, 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 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2017, American Nuclear Society, Pittsburgh, PA, September 24-28, 2017
• H. Bui, J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, Spatio-temporal socio-technical risk analysis methodology for emergency response, Proceedings of 13th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (PSAM 13), International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), Seoul, Korea, October 2-7, 2016
• N. O'Shea, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Estimating loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) frequencies via spatio-temporal methodology, Proceedings of 13th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (PSAM 13), International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), Seoul, Korea, October 2-7, 2016
• N. O'Shea, Z. Mohaghegh, Spatio-temporal methodology for estimating loss-of-coolant accident frequencies in the risk-informed resolution of generic safety issue 191, Proceedings of 2016 Student Conference, American Nuclear Society, Madison, WI, March 31-April 3, 2016
• T. Sakurahara, S.A. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, M. Brandyberry, E. Kee, S. Rodgers, M.A. Billings, D. Johnson, Integrated PRA methodology to advance fire risk modeling for nuclear power plants, Proceedings of Safety and Reliability of Complex Engineered Systems: ESREL 2015, CRC Press, Zürich, Switzerland, September 7-10, 2015
• I. Miller, J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, J. Whitacre, E. Kee, Using GIS to integrate social factors with level 3 PRA for emergency response, Proceedings of Safety and Reliability of Complex Engineered Systems: ESREL 2015, CRC Press, Zurich, Switzerland, September 7-10, 2015
• J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, Risk-informed emergency response via spatio-temporal socio-technical risk analysis, Proceedings of Safety and Reliability of Complex Engineered Systems: ESREL 2015, CRC Press, Zurich, Switzerland, September 7-10, 2015
• N. O'Shea, Z. Mohaghegh, S.A. Reihani, E. Kee, K. Fleming, B. Lydell, Analyzing non-piping location-specific LOCA frequency for risk-informed resolution of generic safety issue 191, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2015, American Nuclear Society, Sun Valley, ID, April 26-30, 2015
• J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, C. Ostroff, V. Dang, E. Kee, R. Hubenak, M.A. Billings, Quantifying organizational factors in human reliability analysis using the big data-theoretic algorithm, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2015, American Nuclear Society, Sun Valley, ID, April 26-30, 2015
• J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, On the incorporation of spatio-temporal dimensions into socio-technical risk analysis, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, PSA 2015, American Nuclear Society, Sun Valley, ID, April 26-30, 2015
• N. O'Shea, J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, Physics of failure, predictive modeling & data analytics for LOCA frequency, Proceedings of 2015 Annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium (RAMS), IEEE, Palm Harbor, FL, January 26-29, 2015
• J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, C. Ostroff, E. Kee, F. Yilmaz, R. Grantom, D. Johnson, Toward monitoring organizational safety indicators by integrating probabilistic risk assessment, socio-technical systems theory, and big data analytics, Proceedings of PSAM 2014-Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), Honolulu, HI, June 22-27, 2014
• M. Abolhelm, J. Pence, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, Toward demonstrating the monetary value of probabilistic risk assessment for nuclear power plants, Proceedings of PSAM 2014-Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), Honolulu, HI, June 22-27, 2014
• T. Sakurahara, S.A. 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 PSAM 2014-Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), Honolulu, HI, June 22-27, 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 PSAM 2014-Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), Honolulu, HI, June 22-27, 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 Risk Management for Complex Socio-Technical Systems [RM4CSS], American Nuclear Society, Washington, DC, November 10-14, 2013
• E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, R. Kazemi, S. Reihani, B. Letellier, R. Grantom, Risk-informed decision making: Application in nuclear power plant design & operation, Proceedings of Risk Management for Complex Socio-Technical Systems [RM4CSS], American Nuclear Society, Washington, DC, November 10-14, 2013
• A. Elbanna, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, S. Reihani, R. Kazemi, S. Rodgers, Towards physics-based seismic PRA, Proceedings of Risk Management for Complex Socio-Technical Systems [RM4CSS], American Nuclear Society, Washington, DC, November 10-14, 2013
• Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, S. Reihani, R. Kazemi, D. Johnson, R. Grantom, K. Fleming, T. Sande, B. Letellier, G. Zigler, D. Morton, J. Tejada, K. Howe, J. Leavitt, Y. Hassan, R. Vaghetto, S. Lee, S. Blossom, Risk-informed resolution of generic safety issue 191, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis 2013, PSA 2013, American Nuclear Society, Columbia, SC, September 22-27, 2013
• T. Sande, G. Zigler, E. Kee, B. Letellier, R. Grantom, Z. Mohaghegh, The benefits of using a risk-informed approach to resolving GSI-191, Proceedings of International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, Anaheim, CA, July 30-August 3, 2012
• Z. Mohaghegh, A. Mosleh, M. Modarres, Hybrid incorporation of physical & social failure mechanisms into probabilistic risk assessment, Proceedings of 11th International Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference and the Annual European Safety and Reliability Conference 2012, PSAM11 ESREL 2012, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), Helsinki, Finland, June 25-29, 2012
• Z. Mohaghegh, M. Modarres, A probabilistic physics-of-failure approach to common cause failures in reliability assessment of structures and components, Proceedings of Embedded Topical Meeting: 1st ANS SMR Conference and Young Professionals Congress, American Nuclear Society, Washington, DC, October 30-November 3, 2011
• Z. Mohaghegh, M. Modarres, A. Christou, Physics-based common cause failure modeling in probabilistic risk analysis: A mechanistic perspective, Proceedings of ASME 2011 Power Conference collocated with JSME ICOPE 2011, ASME, Denver, CO, July 12-14, 2011
• Z. Mohaghegh, M. Modarres, Common cause failure modeling using probabilistic physics-of-failure (POF) analysis: A mechanistic approach, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2011), American Nuclear Society, Wilmington, NC, March 13-17, 2011
• Z. Mohaghegh, Development of an aviation safety causal model using socio-technical risk analysis (SoTeRiA), Proceedings of 10th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management 2010, PSAM 2010, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), Seattle, WA, June 7-11, 2010
• Z. Mohaghegh, Combining system dynamics and Bayesian belief networks for socio-technical risk analysis, Proceedings of 2010 IEEE International Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics, IEEE, Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 23-26, 2010
• Z. Mohaghegh, A. Mosleh, Modeling organizational influences for new-generation probabilistic risk analysis of technical systems, Proceedings of Embedded Topical Meeting: Risk Management - For Tomorrow's Challenges, American Nuclear Society, Washington, DC, November 15-19, 2009
• Z. Mohaghegh, Modeling emergent behavior for socio-technical probabilistic risk assessment, Proceedings of Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technologies (NPIC&HMIT 2009), American Nuclear Society, Knoxville, TN, April 5-9, 2009
• Z. Mohaghegh, A. Mosleh, Theoretical foundations for building organizational safety models for PRA applications, Proceedings of International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2008), American Nuclear Society, Knoxville, TN, September 7-11, 2008
• Z. Mohaghegh, R. Kazemi, A. Mosleh, A hybrid technique for organizational safety risk analysis, Proceedings of 9th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management 2008, PSAM 2008, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), Hong Kong, China, May 18-23, 2008
• Z. Mohaghegh, A. Mosleh, Multi-dimensional measurement perspective in modeling organizational safety risk, Proceedings of European Safety and Reliability Conference 2007, ESREL 2007-Risk, Reliability and Societal Safety, Taylor & Francis Group, Stavanger, Norway, June 25-27, 2007
• Z. Mohaghegh, A. Mosleh, A causal modeling framework for assessing organizational factors and their impacts on safety performance, Proceedings of 8th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, PSAM 2006, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), New Orleans, LA, May 14-18, 2006

Abstracts (in print or accepted)

• J. Pence, J. Yang, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, and Z. Mohaghegh, Theory-Guided Machine Learning for Licensee Event Reports of U.S. Nuclear Power Plants to Quantify Organizational Factors in Probabilistic Risk Assessment, The 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference, The 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL 2020 & PSAM 15), Venice, Italy, 2020
• 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, USA, 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, and 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, USA, 2022
• H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, and Z. Mohaghegh, Probabilistic Validation Methodology for Probabilistic Risk Assessment, Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16), Honolulu, USA, 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, USA, 2022
• G. Ligler, E. Allison, J. Clarke, L. Cuellar-Hengartner, Feigh, K. M., Guzzetti, J., Hinderberger, R. J., Mohaghegh, Z., Morell, P., Schilling, J. C., Voros, R. E., Yacoby, A., Mozhi, A., Walker, L., Angleman, A., Hartman, C. N., Kroo, I., Argrow, B. M., Braun, R. D., Crawley, E., Gray, W., Helms, S., Karas, J., Lacher, A., Lappos, N., Lyles, L., Manning, V., Moin, P., Pines, D., Roy, R., Sigur, W., Thompson, D., Waas, A., Yarymovych, M., Zacharius, S., Day, D., Knemeyer, M., Lightfoot, R., Nagasawa, D., Naylor, C., Pilzak, T., Rebholz, A., Caflisch, R., Chong, D., Endsley, M., Fazio, A., Harris, W., Knife, S., Marais, K., Quiello, M., Evaluation of the Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology, Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16), Honolulu, USA, 2022
• Z. Mohaghegh. “Socio-Technical Risk Analysis: Past, Current, and Future”, An International Symposium on Sociotechnical Research on Nuclear Technology, Hosted by OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, 2024 

Magazine Articles

• Zahra Mohaghegh, “Lighting the path for next-generation PRA leaders in nuclear engineering,” Leaders Article in the September Issue of American Nuclear Society (ANS) Nuclear News, 2021

Reports

• J. Biersdorf, H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, C. LaFleur, D. Luxat, S. Prescott, Z. Mohaghegh, Risk importance ranking of fire data parameters to enhance fire PRA model realism, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID, 2020
• Z. Mohaghegh, T. Sakurahara, J. Beal, W.-C. Cheng, P. Farshadmanesh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, A. Rowell, F. Yilmaz, Systematic Enterprise Risk Management by Integrating the RISMC Toolkit and Cost-Benefit Analysis, Final Report for DOE Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP) Project 17-12614, 2021
• K. Kaspar, B. Ratte, M.A. Billings, Z. Mohaghegh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, S. Alkhatib, M. Albati, T.L. Von Thaden, R. Kesler, and F. Masoud, Integrated Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Modeling in Support of Operational Efficiency, Final Technical Report for the U.S. Department of Energy, Industry Opportunities for Advanced Nuclear Technology Development (#DE-NE0008856), 2022

Professional Societies

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers, member, 2007-present
• Society for Risk Analysis, member, 2007-present
• American Nuclear Society, member, 2009-present
• International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), member of the Board of Directors, 2020-present

Other Outside Service

• Invited Member, Community of Experts on the Implementation of Improvements to the Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology, U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2023-2026
• Invited Member, Committee on “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Coast Guard Certificate of Compliance Examination Program for Gas Carriers,” U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, November 2022-April 2024
• Invited member, Nuclear Education, Skills, and Technology (NEST) small modular reactor (SMR) project, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development-Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD-NEA), 2022-present
• Invited reviewer for a consensus study report on the “Technical Feasibility of a Wheelchair Securement Concept for Airline Travel,” U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, D.C., June 2021
• Invited member, Committee on “Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology,” U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, May 2021-August 2022. The committee released its report to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in June 2023 after many months of deliberation, research, and examination
• Invited member, Board of Directors, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM), 2020-present