Hector Mendoza, PhD
About Hector Mendoza, PhD
Hector Mendoza, PhD, is an R&D Computational/Experimental Thermal Researcher at Sandia National Laboratories, specializing in structural and thermal nuclear energy technologies.
Title
Hector Mendoza, PhD, is an R&D Computational/Experimental Thermal Researcher at Sandia National Laboratories. His work primarily focuses on Structural and Thermal Nuclear Energy Technologies.
Professional Experience at Sandia National Laboratories
Hector Mendoza has been an R&D Computational/Experimental Thermal Researcher at Sandia National Laboratories since 2014. In this role, he has led the testing on multiple large-scale pool fire tests for radioactive material packaging (RAMPAC) and developed surrogate/reduced-order models using machine learning to reduce computational costs in thermal fluid analysis. He is adept at using finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools to study phase change and reactive flow problems.
Previous Roles at UC Berkeley
Hector Mendoza previously worked at UC Berkeley from 2006 to 2014. During his time there, he was involved in multiple roles, including as a Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Researcher in the Energy and Multiphase Transport Lab, a Graduate Student Researcher in the Combustion and Fire Processes Laboratory, and an Undergraduate Student Researcher at the Berkeley Nanosciences and Nanoengineering Institute.
Education and Expertise
Hector Mendoza earned a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, from 2008 to 2013. He also gained a Master of Science (MS) in Mechanical Engineering from the same institution between 2006 and 2008. Prior to his graduate studies, he completed his Bachelor of Science (BS) in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at San Antonio from 2002 to 2006.
Experience with BAE Systems and NASA Collaboration
Before his tenure at Sandia National Laboratories and UC Berkeley, Hector Mendoza worked at BAE Systems as an R&D Mechanical Engineering Intern in the Testing and Analysis Department in 2006 for 3 months. Additionally, he contributed as an Undergraduate Engineer at The University of Texas at San Antonio, collaborating with NASA from 2005 to 2006.