Prof. Sara Pozzi

Professor Sara Pozzi is a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor at the University of Michigan (U-M). She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at the Polytechnic of Milan, Italy in 1997 and 2001. She is a Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and a Professor of Physics. Prior to her positions at UM, she was a staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from 2002 to 2007.

Her research interests include the development of new methods for nuclear materials detection, identification, and characterization for nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and national security programs. Professor Sara Pozzi is the founding Director of the Consortium for Verification Technology (CVT) 2014-2019 and the Consortium for Monitoring, Technology, and Verification (MTV) 2019-2024, two large consortia of multiple universities and national laboratories working together to develop new technologies needed for nuclear treaty verification. In this capacity, she directs the work of 25 faculty members and over 250 students engaged in research projects within the consortium.

Professor Sara Pozzi is the co-author of the Monte Carlo code MCNPX-PoliMi, which is being used at over 50 institutions world-wide. Her publication record includes over 175 journal papers and over 350 international conference proceedings. She was invited to give over 120 seminars, both nationally and internationally. She has graduated over 28 Ph. D. students who went on to develop successful careers at the national laboratories, academia, industry, and government.

In 2018, Professor Sara Pozzi was named the inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for the U-M College of Engineering. In this capacity, she heads the DEI implementation committee and works to ensure that the students, faculty, and staff are increasingly diverse, everyone is treated equitably, and everyone is included.

She is the recipient of many awards, including the 2006 Oak Ridge National Laboratory Early Career Award, 2006 Department of Energy, Office of Science, Outstanding Mentor Award, 2012 INMM Edway R. Johnson Meritorious Service Award, 2017 IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, 2018 Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award. In 2022, she was elected Vice-President/President-Elect of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society. She is an International Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, and the IEEE.