- 01
Monte Carlo verification and validation
Three-dimensional core models in MCNP and Serpent, cross-checked against each other and against WIMS-AECL, the industry lattice code. Every paper from 2013 to 2016 is a code-to-code check. OpenMC joined the toolkit in 2026.
- 02
CANDU 6 flux, power and burnup
Full-core Gentilly-2 models with 37-element bundles: radial and axial flux, power density, k-effective against burnup, and a channel-flux-to-fuel-flux ratio for turning tallies into per-bundle power.
- 03
Fuel depletion and burnable absorbers
With the University of West Bohemia, benchmarked the fast depletion code UWB1 on the CANDU bundle so absorber additives that flatten the plutonium peak can be screened in seconds.
- 04
The Multispectrum CANDU Reactor
A helium-cooled fast core inside a CANDU thermal core to burn weapons-grade uranium and plutonium. Either core alone is subcritical, so disturbing one shuts the reactor down. Six full-core models in the thesis.
§0 Dr. Mohamed Salah Hussein
Reactor physicist who verifies before he trusts.
Reactor and radiation physicist, PhD (Royal Military College of Canada, 2017). Thirteen years modelling CANDU cores in MCNP, Serpent and WIMS-AECL, a reactor concept for burning weapons material, and now a Master of Engineering Management to run the programmes.
- Based
- Kingston, Ontario
- PhD
- Nuclear Science & Eng., RMC 2017
- MEngM
- Ontario Tech 2026
histories 0collisions 0in fast core 0 %
- Fast-core radius
- 108.9 cm
- Thermal channels
- 320
- Fast channels
- 32
- Fast-core pitch
- 28.6 cm
- Fast-core fuel
- U-235 · 19.9 %
Same pitch as the thermal core. Reached subcriticality after 135 days.
- Thermal core · nat. UO₂ in D₂O
- Fast core · U or Pu MOX in He
- Partition wall · SS316
- D₂O reflector
- Neutron history · schematic
§1 Research
Four threads, one habit: check the code against another code.
Plain-language summaries. Each links to the paper it rests on.
§2 Publications
Selected publications.
Depth over count. One sentence each on what was done and what it showed.
| No. | Year | Title | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 2018 | Uranium Nitride Fuels for Application in CANDU ReactorsJ. Wallenius, M. HusseinNatural uranium nitride made with nitrogen-15 in a CANDU core lengthens the average bundle residence time from 210 to 360 days compared with UO₂; coolant void worth rises by 20 % and the total power coefficient halves. | PHYSOR 2018Conference · Cancún, Mexico |
| 02 | 2016 | The application of UWB1 nuclear fuel depletion code on a CANDU fuel bundleM. Lovecký, R. Škoda, M. S. Hussein, J. J. Song, P. K. ChanBenchmarked the University of West Bohemia's fast depletion code UWB1 on the 37-element CANDU bundle against WIMS-AECL, Serpent and MCNP6, so burnable-absorber studies can run in seconds per depletion step instead of hours. | Prog. Nucl. EnergyJournal |
| 03 | 2017 | Design of a Multispectrum CANDU Reactor for Burning Actinides: An Approach of Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Fuel RecyclingMohamed Salah HusseinSix full-core MSCR models in Serpent. The best uranium model destroyed 10.7 % of fissile isotopes in 1000 days; the best plutonium model 15.3 % over 2600 days. Either core alone is subcritical, so disturbing one shuts the reactor down. | PhD thesis, RMCThesis · Kingston, Ontario |
| 04 | 2015 | Design of a MultiSpectrum CANDU-based Reactor, MSCR, with 37-Element Fuel Bundles Using Serpent CodeM. S. Hussein, H. W. Bonin, B. J. Lewis, P. K. ChanFirst public design of the Multispectrum CANDU Reactor: an inner helium-cooled fast core inside a CANDU 6 thermal core, both with 37-element bundles, sized for criticality safety and studied across several U-235 enrichments. | ICMSNSE 2015Conference · Ottawa |
| 05 | 2014 | Burnup Calculation of a CANDU6 Reactor Using the Serpent and MCNP6 CodesM. S. Hussein, H. W. Bonin, B. J. LewisValidated whole-core burnup in MCNP6 and Serpent against WIMS-AECL, the industry lattice code, with k-effective versus burnup in excellent agreement. Still cited in 2025 work on SMR spent fuel in CANDU. | PBNC 2014Conference · Vancouver |
| 06 | 2014 | Calculation of the Radial and Axial Flux and Power Distribution for a CANDU 6 Reactor with both the MCNP6 and Serpent CodesM. S. Hussein, H. W. Bonin, B. J. LewisBuilt full 3-D MCNP6 and Serpent models of the CANDU 6 (Gentilly-2) core with 37-element bundles and compared flux and power-density maps; Serpent matched MCNP6 and was the more efficient of the two. | PBNC 2014Conference · Vancouver |
| 07 | 2013 | Numerical Verification/Validation of the Theory of Coupled Reactors for Deuterium Critical Assembly, using MCNP5 and Serpent CodesM. S. Hussein, B. J. Lewis, H. W. BoninRepeated the coupled-reactor verification with both MCNP5 and Serpent and found excellent agreement, establishing Serpent as valid for multipoint coupled-core calculations. Also given as a talk. | CANDU Fuel 2013Conference · Kingston, Ontario |
§3 Experience
Thirty years between Alexandria and Kingston.
Research, teaching and fellowships, most recent first.
| Years | Role | Institution | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023– | Research Fellow (remote, part-time) | INTI International UniversityMalaysia (remote from Kingston) | Nuclear and radiation science, SMR reactors, environmental radiation, physics education. |
| 2023–2023 | Senior Research Fellow | Royal Military College of CanadaKingston, Ontario | Thorium-based fuel for small modular reactors: fuel sustainability and waste management through better fuel utilisation.Paper in preparation. |
| 2022– | Professor | St. Lawrence CollegeKingston, Ontario | Teaching chemistry and physics. |
| 2019–2022 | Assistant Professor (contractual) | Royal Military College of CanadaKingston, Ontario | Nuclear science and engineering, reactor physics, physics. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.Listed in the RMC instructor directory 2020–2021. |
| 2021–2022 | Adjunct Assistant Professor | Royal Military College of CanadaKingston, Ontario | Physics, general chemistry, health and radiation physics, nuclear science and engineering. |
| 2017–2021 | Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Research Associate | Royal Military College of Canada, via Calian GroupKingston, Ontario | Reactor physics research under contract staffing. |
| 2017–2019 | Postdoctoral Research Fellow | Royal Military College of CanadaKingston, Ontario | Reactor physics. |
| 2009–2017 | Reactor Physics Researcher | Royal Military College of CanadaKingston, Ontario | Monte Carlo modelling of CANDU 6 and the Deuterium Critical Assembly in MCNP and Serpent; design of the Multispectrum CANDU Reactor.Seven papers 2013–2016 and the PhD thesis (2017), funded by NSERC and UNENE. |
| 1995–2007 | Physics teacher | Secondary schools | Physics taught to British, American, Egyptian, Indian and UAE national curricula.Distinguished Teacher Award, Abu Dhabi Educational Zone, 2007. |
| 1993–1995 | Teaching Assistant | Faculty of Science, Alexandria UniversityAlexandria, Egypt | Experimental physics for undergraduates. |
§4 Education
Eight credentials, three countries, forty years.
| Years | Credential | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2024–2026 | Master of Engineering Management, Engineering ManagementConferred May 2026. Coursework: nuclear regulations and waste management, shielding engineering and advanced microdosimetry, project and production management, quality control, risk analysis, operations research. | Ontario Tech UniversityOshawa, Ontario |
| 2026–2026 | Introduction to OpenMC, Open-source Monte Carlo neutron and photon transportCertificate, June 2026. | OECD Nuclear Energy AgencyOnline |
| 2022–2022 | Graduate Diploma, Education and Digital TechnologyGraduated June 2024. | Ontario Tech UniversityOshawa, Ontario |
| 2010–2017 | PhD, Nuclear Science and EngineeringDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Thesis accepted 31 May 2017. Supervisors Hugues Bonin and Brent Lewis. Funded by NSERC and UNENE. | Royal Military College of CanadaKingston, Ontario |
| 2007–2008 | MSc, Physics and Technology of Nuclear ReactorsThe PTNR programme, running since 1956. Project: characteristics of the CZT detector. | University of BirminghamBirmingham, UK |
| 1999–2003 | MSc, Nuclear Radiation DetectorsThesis: a direct statistical mathematical model to calculate the full-energy-peak efficiency of HPGe detectors. | Faculty of Science, Alexandria UniversityAlexandria, Egypt |
| 1997–1998 | Postgraduate Diploma, Information Technology | Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria UniversityAlexandria, Egypt |
| 1991–1992 | Postgraduate Diploma, Radiation Physics | Faculty of Science, Alexandria UniversityAlexandria, Egypt |
| 1986–1990 | BSc, Physics | Faculty of Science, Alexandria UniversityAlexandria, Egypt |
§5 Teaching
Physics, chemistry and reactor physics, taught since 1993.
Twelve courses ready to teach, from science for non-majors to graduate reactor physics.
- Royal Military College of CanadaNuclear Science and Engineering · Reactor Physics · Physics · General Chemistry · Health and Radiation Physics
- St. Lawrence CollegeChemistry · Physics
- Secondary schools (1995–2007)Physics to British, American, Egyptian, Indian and UAE national curricula
- Alexandria UniversityExperimental Physics laboratories (undergraduate)
A Higher Education Teaching Certificate from Harvard's Bok Center and a Graduate Diploma in Education and Digital Technology (Ontario Tech, 2024) sit alongside the physics: teaching is treated as a discipline, not a side duty.
§6 Notes
In his own words.
Short essays first published on LinkedIn.
- 17 Jul 2025In nuclear, decisions are not just business. They are a public trust.Why the nuclear industry cannot move fast and break things, and the three habits that replace it.
- 16 Jul 2025Fusing scientific focus with engineering visionWhat a Master of Engineering Management adds to a reactor physicist, and why decision-making is the thread.
- 21 Dec 2024Natural-science students need management science tooProject management, production management and operations research belong in a physicist's education.
§7 Contact
Open to research, teaching and nuclear-industry roles.
Academic and industry, in Canada or abroad.