Jeff Coleman Email and Phone Number

At the Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility, I work for the Material Control and Accountability (MC&A) group as the Measurement Control Coordinator. Similar to my previous experience at the MOX Project, I perform statistical analyses on the plethora of measurement systems plant wide to ensure that the Standard Error of the Inventory Difference is below regulatory limits, and that the Uranium and U-235 Inventory Differences are below the limit of error established by these statistical calculations. Moreover, I collaborate with engineers and management plant-wide to perform analyses of important quality, reliability, safety, and environmental data to extract insights and develop decision rules for a variety of applications important to the Columbia plant.

I worked as a PEAK Technical Staffing contractor for Westinghouse’s Information Analytics group in Continuous Improvement. I performed an input uncertainty analysis on structural engineering calculations related to flow induced vibrations. This work is for the Advanced Reactor Internals Design and Analysis group who is dddesigning and testing Westinghouse’s new AP1000 reactor in China, Georgia, and South Carolina. What Westinghouse ARIDA Did:Westinghouse’s Advanced Reactor Internals Design and Analysis group is designing and testing Westinghouse’s new AP1000 reactor in China, Georgia, and South Carolina. Before the reactor goes online, the NRC requires them to develop a Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program (CVAP). This program is a set of pre-startup computational fluid dynamics (CFD), finite element models (FEMs), and Hot Functional Tests (HFTs) that analyze the Flow Induced Vibrations (FIVs) of reactor vessel internals (RVIs). The modeled structural response is translated to predictions and acceptance criteria for the various accelerometers, strain gages, and dynamic pressure transducers installed in the Sanmen 1 unit for Hot Functional Tests (HFTs).What I Did:My part in the CVAP pre-test analysis is to propagate variances (input uncertainties) and biases (conservatisms) through the various FEM, structural, and forcing function inputs. I trace a calculation path for the various elemental inputs such as water density, flow rate, and temperature through the CVAP prediction level. Then I calculate relative sensitivities of the various models to uncertainty in these inputs by hand and in MATHCAD®. Next, I directly calculate or elicit from SMEs the uncertainties and offsets in these elemental inputs. Finally, I produce decision rules in various tabular and graphical forms such as Analytica® influence diagrams that allow these SMEs to make confidence statements regarding model predictions and acceptance criteria.

I worked for five years at the MOX Project near Aiken SC as the statistician for the Nuclear Material Control and Accountability group. At MOX, I helped create a system to safeguard weapons-grade plutonium in a process designed to convert nuclear weapons into commercial nuclear fuel. My department accounted for this material in process and in storage within our facility as well as the material we ship and receive to and from other facilities. My job was to analyze and qualify the myriad of MOX process and laboratory measurement methods so I can create decision rules that help my management and federal regulators infer whether a process anomaly potentially indicates a theft or diversion of the material we safeguard. This is sort of an insurance policy for the guards, guns, and gates we employed to protect this strategic nuclear material. The creation and maintenance of these capabilities involved frequent interaction with groups across the Project, with management, and with multiple federal agencies. I also worked with the Physical Protection Group--the folks in charge of guards, guns & gates--as a technical writer for their various analyses of threat scenarios, attractive targets, and potential vulnerabilities.

I taught high school and middle school math for about 9 years in the Johnson City and Washington County TN school systems, mostly at Science Hill High School in Johnson City. I loved teaching 8th grade math and algebra the most. I felt like I could have a tangible, positive impact on students and their families at that age. It was an amazing experience where I felt like the schools where I taught valued my skills and contributions. I am certainly happy to see where the twists and turns of life have taken me thus far, but I will certainly miss teaching kids!