Contact Info: 
Matt.Hertel@Gmail.com

PDF Downloads:
Resume / Curriculum Vitae
List of Publications

Hello! 
I'm happy that you've decided to visit my site and take a look at what I've been up to.  I've written a short summary about myself below that should give you an idea of what I'm all about.  Thanks for taking the time to read about my life, it's very kind of you.  My contact information is to the left, send me a message if you have any questions or just want to say hello.

Professional Background
My current career phase began relatively recently, initiating with the completion of my doctoral program of study at Oregon State University and award of a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering. My graduate research focused on thermal hydraulic experimentation and advanced thermal sensor development, with a novel thermal sensor design being the primary deliverable.

Leading up to this point, I had been slowly working on my doctoral dissertation over the previous several years while also travelling around the world while working for ASML as a System Integration Engineer. This period came to an end in November of 2020, when I finally defended my doctoral research, finished my graduate program at OSU, and started my own company; Hertel R&D LLC. This business concept was originally planned as a patent holding and licensing venture, but has since evolved to focus on technical consulting.

In early 2021, I accepted a position as a Thermodynamics Analyst for X-energy, working to support the development and eventual certification of the Xe-100 reactor. At the end of 2021, I switched to an engineering management role for the Instrumentation & Controls team. My work has mostly focused on controls development and analysis, multi-unit analysis, digital twin development, and thermal fluids analysis. I plan to continue managing Hertel R&D LLC while working for X-energy and hope to see my efforts culminate into the deployment of an advanced HTGR sometime in the near future. My path through academics and my early career has been about chasing challenges and opportunities that help me to learn, grow, and hopefully contribute something meaningful.

Academic Background
Most of my life, up to this point, has been concerned with progressing through the world of academics. I knew that I wanted to pursue a PhD once I started to be involved with university research programs as an undergraduate in mechanical engineering at Kansas State University.  Scientific research has always been a uniquely satisfying profession for me.  I've come to see a significant need for research and development work in energy production and distribution, to meet the demands of a growing world population.  Nuclear energy has always seemed like the production method with the greatest promise and it provides an immense depth of technology; spanning from subatomic physics to advanced robotics and high-power computing.  I knew that I wanted to help design the next generation of nuclear reactors after being exposed to nuclear engineering through my course work at KSU.  I decided to pursue an experimental thermal hydraulics specialization in nuclear engineering and attend Oregon State University for my doctoral studies; as I was very impressed with their research programs and faculty.  

Oregon State University
While at OSU, I worked on the High Temperature Test Facility for five years and oversaw the construction, instrumentation, and initial testing of the facility.  Following that project, I worked on the Stratified Flow Separate Effects Test Facility for about a year and developed a measurement and control system for the facility during that time.  I selected the development of specialized HTGR instrumentation as my dissertation topic after encountering a significant gap in technology related to the application of experimental reactor thermal hydraulics to emerging reactor systems.  I feel that this gap must be addressed if this advanced reactor technology will ever see commercial deployment.  During my graduate school years, I published a number of papers related to my work, attended a good number of conferences and workshops, and generally just enjoyed the people and places that define the Pacific Northwest.

Kansas State University
I attended Kansas State University for my undergraduate education and left with a Bachelor of Science degree for mechanical engineering, with a nuclear engineering option.  During the last two and a half years at KSU, I worked as an undergraduate research assistant at the KSU S.M.A.R.T. Lab and helped develop radiation detectors using thin film fabrication methodology.  I was the president of the student chapters of the American Nuclear Society, the North American Young Generation in Nuclear, and Global Zero.  I was also the vice-president of the student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and participated in several social and political clubs.  I studied abroad in the Czech Republic during my undergrad years as well.  I lived in Prague for a summer and took classes at Charles University.