Valeria Raffuzzi

Post Doctoral Researcher 路 University of Cambridge

Focus - Monte Carlo acceleration & SCONE 2024 鈥� Present

Nuclear engineer and core developer of SCONE 鈥� the Cambridge Monte Carlo neutron-transport code at the heart of the MaThRad programme. My research accelerates Monte Carlo simulation with variable-fidelity cross-section representations, zeta-eigenvalue methods for efficient criticality searches, and random-ray-driven variance reduction for shielding problems, alongside an active role in the reactor-physics community as conference organiser, track leader and session chair.

Body of work

7 items

Year

Publication 2025 路 Nov

Nuclear Science and Engineering 路 with Politecnico di Torino

The zeta-eigenvalue method finds critical densities and geometries with far fewer criticality searches than conventional iteration. This paper delivers validated Monte Carlo and deterministic implementations 鈥� the core of a research line now spreading through the criticality community.

鈥篎ollow-up published in Annals of Nuclear Energy: "Short-cutting critical geometry searches: coordinate perturbations and the zeta-eigenvalue equation" (2026) 鈥� .
鈥篍arlier implementation paper presented at M&C25; convergence analysis (with E. Woods) submitted to PHYSOR 2026.
鈥篒nvited seminar series "Short-cutting critical searches": University of Wisconsin鈥揗adison and McMaster University (Sep 2025), Reactor Physics Technical Forum 2025 (Oct 2025), and the ANSWERS Seminar 2025 (with E. Woods).

Linked 路 DOI Zeta eigenvalueCriticality

Publication 2025 路 Mar

Nuclear Science and Engineering

A validated variance-reduction algorithm for reactor-shielding studies that uses the random ray method to drive global variance reduction in Monte Carlo shielding calculations 鈥� cutting the cost of deep-penetration problems.

鈥篎irst presented at PHYSOR 2024 as "Application of the Random Ray Method to Global Variance Reduction in Radiation Shielding Problems" 鈥� .

Linked 路 DOI Variance reductionRandom rayShielding

Software 2026 路 Feb

Annals of Nuclear Energy 路 "Status of the SCONE Monte Carlo neutron transport code"

Core developer of SCONE, the open Monte Carlo particle-transport code developed at Cambridge and used across the MaThRad programme as the platform for new algorithms. The 2026 status paper documents the code's capabilities and validation.

鈥篟unning a SCONE workshop at PHYSOR 2026 (with P. Cosgrove).

Linked 路 DOI SCONEMonte CarloSoftware

Software 2026 路 in progress

MARS 鈥� stochastic point-kinetics Monte Carlo code

with L. Bure拧路 collaboration with SaltFoss Energy

A validated Monte Carlo code prototype for stochastic point kinetics, applied to circulating-fuel reactors under the perfect-mixing approximation 鈥� industrially relevant modelling developed with SaltFoss Energy.

鈥篜aper "Stochastic Point Kinetics Model of Circulating-Fuel Reactors under Perfect Mixing Approximation" submitted to PHYSOR 2026.

Asserted Point kineticsMolten saltIn progress

Publication 2025 路 Feb

Nuclear Science and Engineering 路 with R. Gaya

Machine learning applied to nuclear data: a regression-tree model predicting exotic (n,2n) cross sections, part of a broader nuclear-data validation effort spanning experiment and computation.

Linked 路 DOI Nuclear dataMachine learning

Publication 2024 路 Jun

Nuclear Engineering and Design 路 with N. Read

Reactor-physics application work: neutronic analysis of high-burnup thorium-HALEU fuel cycles in pressurised heavy-water reactors.

鈥篟elated reactor-transient study "Impact of k-, 伪-, and c-eigenvalue spectra on group constant generation for lead-cooled fast reactor transients" (with N. Abrate, Politecnico di Torino) submitted to PHYSOR 2026.

Linked 路 DOI Reactor physicsThorium

Community leadership 2024 鈫� present

Conference organisation and service in the reactor-physics community

OECD-NEA 路 American Nuclear Society

Local Chair and principal organiser of the OECD-NEA WPRS Benchmarks workshop 2025, alongside a sustained programme of service to the American Nuclear Society conference series.

鈥篠ession Chair at M&C25; Monte Carlo methods Track Leader and reviewer for PHYSOR 2026; Session Chair for PHYSOR 2027; reviewer for PHYSOR 2024.

Asserted CommunityConference service

Output over time

2024 鈥� 2026

2024

2025

2026

Research

Joined MaThRad 路 SCONE thread

Random-ray VR paper 路 PHYSOR24

Thorium-HALEU paper 路 NED

(n,2n) ML paper 路 NSE (Feb)

Random-ray VR paper 路 NSE (Mar)

Zeta-eigenvalue paper 路 NSE (Nov)

"Short-cutting critical searches" seminar tour

SCONE status paper 路 Annals (Feb)

Geometry-search paper 路 Annals

3 PHYSOR26 submissions

Collab

PHYSOR24 reviewer

OECD-NEA WPRS workshop 路 Local Chair

M&C25 Session Chair

PHYSOR26 MC Track Leader

SCONE workshop 路 PHYSOR26

Impact

糖心TV

Department of Statistics