Kalin Kiesling

Dr. Kalin R. Kiesling joined Argonne in 2022 after completing her Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research expertise is in Monte Carlo neutronics analysis, software development, and software quality assurance. Dr. Kiesling’s work falls at the intersection of multiphysics reactor analysis and software development, producing the computational tools and workflow management tools that are used by industry for their reactor design. Dr. Kiesling is currently the code manager and lead developer for the PyARC code suite, a Python wrapper that automates multiphysics analysis with the Argonne Reactor Computation (ARC) codes. She also contributes to other open and closed-source software projects widely used for reactor design and analysis.

Education and Training

Degrees

• Ph.D. Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2022
• M.S. Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2015
• B.S. Nuclear Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2015 (second major: Spanish Language)

Certificates

• Certificate in International Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2012
• Software Carpentry Instructor Certification, The Carpentries Organization, 2016
• Teaching and Learning Intern and Student, NSF Delta Program from the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning, 2017-2018

Trainings

• Frederic Joliot / Otto Hahn Summer School on Nuclear Reactors ​“Physics, Fuels, and Systems”, 2023
• NextProf Nexus Workshop, 2019

Previous Experience

• Software development for various open-source codes used for Monte Carlo analysis (DAGMC, OpenMC, and PyNE) - Computational Nuclear Engineering Research Group at University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2014-2022
• Integrated the Direct Accelerated Geometry Monte Carlo (DAGMC) code into ORNL’s Shift (SCALE) Monte Carlo code - Oak Ridge National Lab, 2016
• Developed an EBR-II model to be used for SAS/DIF3D-K analysis for an IAEA benchmark - Argonne National Lab, 2014

Select Leadership Roles

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Council in NTNS at ANL, representative (2022-2023) and co-chair (Sept. 2023-Jan 2025)
• Diversity and Inclusion in the ANS Committee, co-founder and co-chair (2018-2019)
• Board of Directors for ANS, student director (2015-2017)
• Student Sections Committee in ANS, vice-chair and member (2015-2020)

Select Honors

• Impact Argonne Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Results (2023) - Argonne
• Social Responsibility in the Nuclear Community Award in recognition of establishing the Diversity and Inclusion in ANS Committee (2022) - the American Nuclear Society
• Best Summary and Presentation (2019) - Mathematics and Computation Division in ANS
• Best Summary and Presentation (2016) - Radiation Protection and Shielding Division in ANS
• Commendation for Service and Leadership (2016) - American Nuclear Society
• Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellow (2020-2021) - University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fellow (2014-2018) - University of Wisconsin-Madison

Select Publications

• Abdelhameed, Ahmed, Kyle Ramey, Kalin Kiesling and Nicolas Stauff. ​“Code-to-Code Verification of the ARC codes on a 1500 MWth Metallic-Fueled SFR Core.” Paper presented at the 2024 American Nuclear Society Winter Conference and Expo, Orlando, FL US, November 17, 2024 - November 21, 2024.
• Lefebvre, Robert, Brandon Langley, Marco Delchini, Furkan Oz, Emily Shemon, Yinbin Miao, Shikhar Kumar, Yeon Sang Jung, Aaron Oaks, Sook Kyu Lee, Kalin Kiesling, Kun Mo, Cody Permann, Logan Harbour, Daniel Schwen, Guillaume Giudicelli, Roy Stogner, ​“MOOSE–Workbench Integration and MOOSE Meshing Capability Enhancements to Facilitate Inputs and Outputs for Multiphysics Modeling.“Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL/TM-2024/3596, Sep, 2024.
• Kalin Kiesling, Micheal A. Smith, ​“Software Quality Assurance Plan: Argonne Reactor Code Software” ANL/NSE-23/13, March 1, 2023.
• K. Kiesling, S. Kumar, N. Stauff, P. Shriwise, ​“Status of PyGriffin Development for Integration into the NEAMS Workbench” ANL/NEAMS-23/5, September 30, 2023.
• Kalin R. Kiesling, Patrick C. Shriwise, and Nicolas E. Stauff, ​“Integration of OpenMC into the PyARC Code Package for Fast Reactor Physics Analyses,” Proceedings of the ANS Annual Meeting, 2023.
• N. Stauff, M. Atz, A. Abdelhameed, K. Kiesling, S. Kumar, P. Shriwise, ​“Status of the NEAMS and ARC fast reactor tools integration to the NEAMS Workbench” ANL/NEAMS-20/2 Rev. 1, September 30, 2022.
• K. R. Kiesling, ​“So YouWant to be an Ally? Improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Nuclear Community,” 2020 TRTR Annual Conference, The National Organization of Test, Research, and Training Reactors, (Online), October 1, 2020.
• K. R. Kiesling and P. P. Wilson, ​“Preliminary Results for Particle Tracking on Weight Window Isosurface Geometries for Monte Carlo Variance Reduction,” in American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting 2019, (Washington, D.C, USA), American Nuclear Society, November 2019. (Best Summary and Presentation)
• K. R. Kiesling and P. P.Wilson, ​“Generation of Weight Window Isosurface Geometries for Monte-Carlo Variance Reduction,” in American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting 2018, vol. 119, (Orlando, FL, USA), pp. 586–589, American Nuclear Society, November 2018.
• K. R. Kiesling and G. G. Davidson, ​“Direct Accelerated Geometry Monte Carlo CAD Package Development in Shift for Radiation Transport,” Poster presented at: American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting 2016, (Las Vegas, NV, USA), November 2016.
• K. Kiesling, A. Davis, and P. P. Wilson, ​“PyNE: Usage for Automatic PARTISN Input File Generation from a CAD Geometry,” in American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting 2015, vol. 113, (Washington, D.C., USA), American Nuclear Society, October 2015. (Best Summary and Presentation)