CEE Seminar: Seismic Probabilistic Risk Assessments (SPRAs) of Nuclear Power Plants – Overview and Selected Projects

Abstract: Riccardo Cappa will provide an overview of the nuclear SPRA elements and will present some of the projects he has worked on since he completed his Ph.D. from UC Irvine six years ago. He will also share some good tips to successfully transition from academia to a profession and to land an interview with your dream company.

Bio: Cappa has more than 10 years in performance evaluation of infrastructures. He received his B.S. and M.S. in architectural andbbuilding engineering from the University of Bologna, Italy, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from UC Irvine. His Ph.D. research focused on geotechnical earthquake engineering problems. During his Ph.D. tenure, Cappa examined the seismic hazard and failure potential of levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in California through a combination of experimental and numerical studies. He joined Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH) full time after his Ph.D. in January 2016. His professional experience includes a variety of nuclear-related projects for both existing and future plants. His focus is on seismic fragility evaluations, equipment capacities from experience data, SQUG post-earthquake investigations, digital twins and automation techniques for advanced reactors, and pipe CFRP-repairs.