Arrielle Opotowsky
Senior Engineer, Nuclear Methods at TerraPower LLC
Wisconsin, United States
Summary
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Senior🎓
Top SchoolArrielle Opotowsky is a Senior Engineer in Nuclear Methods with 12 years of experience bridging nuclear science, software engineering, and data visualization. With a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from UW–Madison and a background in materials science and semiconductor characterization, she has moved from nuclear security into advanced reactor development at TerraPower. She contributes backend physics code to open-source projects like PyNE—implementing Q-value retrieval, dose factors, and decay heat calculations—demonstrating hands-on expertise in core simulation physics. Known for promoting software best practices and science communication, she combines rigorous research experience (including DHS- and NSF-funded projects) with practical engineering delivery. Based in Wisconsin, she brings a rare mix of deep domain knowledge and production-grade coding that accelerates nuclear technology development.
12 years of coding experience
4 years of employment as a software developer
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Nuclear Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Nuclear Engineering at University of Wisconsin-MadisonBachelor of Science, Physics and Astronomy, Bachelor of Science, Physics and Astronomy at Louisiana State University
Github Skills (5)
c-language10
cprogramming-language10
python10
hdf8
build-system7
Programming languages (8)
Github contributions (5)
pyne/pyne
Mar 2014 - Aug 2020
PyNE: The Nuclear Engineering Toolkit
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:135 commits, 12 PRs, 2 pushes in 6 years 6 months
Contributions summary:Arrielle primarily worked on adding and refactoring core functionality within the `pyne/pyne` repository, specifically focusing on the `dbgen/q_val.py` and `src/material.cpp` files. Their commits involved implementing functions related to Q-value retrieval, dose factor calculations, and decay heat computations within the material class, likely to be used in nuclear engineering simulations. The user also integrated these new features into the build process and updated associated documentation, showcasing a focus on the core physics calculations of the library.
pythonnuclear-engineeringpyneengineeringnuclear
opotowsky/ANS2015
Jan 2015 - Jun 2020
Contributions:2 PRs, 10 pushes, 2 branches in 5 years 5 months
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