Bio
Dr. Samantha Sabatino is an R&D Associate Staff Member in the Nuclear Infrastructure Deployment and Operations Group at ORNL. Her research focuses on probabilistic risk assessment, fault tree analysis, structural reliability, uncertainty quantification, and the performance of nuclear structures and critical infrastructure under aging, degradation, and extreme loading conditions.
Her current work includes leading concrete harvesting and characterization activities for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program. These efforts support the evaluation of irradiated concrete from operating and decommissioned nuclear facilities and include baseline material characterization, harvesting strategy development, and coordination with domestic and international partners. She also develops probabilistic multi-hazard assessments of concrete biological shields and reactor pressure vessel support systems, with emphasis on the effects of irradiation, corrosion, alkali-silica reaction, seismic loading, loss-of-coolant accidents, and combined hazards on structural reliability and safety margins.
Dr. Sabatino also contributes to advanced reactor safety, physical security, safeguards, and deployment research. This work includes ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for transport and protective structures, security-by-design concepts, integrated safety and security (2S) applications, advanced reactor construction and safeguards implementation, and engagement with microreactor developers and other industry partners. Her computational work includes thermal, structural, and reliability modeling of advanced reactor systems, including Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE)-based analysis of molten salt-concrete interaction and reliability assessment of integrated energy systems.
She has led and supported research sponsored by the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and industry, and has collaborated with national laboratories, universities, utilities, reactor developers, and international research organizations. Her broader research interests include life-cycle performance, infrastructure resilience, multi-hazard assessment, and risk-informed decision making for nuclear and civil infrastructure.
Education
Ph.D., Structural Engineering, Lehigh University, 2017
M.S., Civil Engineering, University of Mississippi, 2011
B.E., Civil Engineering and Mathematics, Vanderbilt University, 2009