Tatsuya Sakurahara, PhD

Assistant Professor 
Nuclear Engineering Program 
Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science (MEMS) 
Swanson School of Engineering 
 
Director, Risk Analysis and Reliability Engineering (RARE) Laboratory 
 
Contact 
A: 538F Benedum Hall, 3700 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 
T: 412-648-4247 
E: tsakurahara@pitt.edu  
 
Dr. Tatsuya Sakurahara has been an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, since September 2024.  
 
Dr. Sakurahara’s research focuses on advancing risk and reliability analysis to enhance the safety and performance of complex technological systems, particularly nuclear energy systems. The goal of his work is to support risk-informed decision-making throughout the life cycle of these systems—from design and licensing to construction and operation, aimed at enabling the deployment of next-generation nuclear energy systems and other emerging technologies. 
 
Research interests:  

• Risk analysis
• Reliability and maintainability
• Human reliability analysis
• Uncertainty quantification
• Decision analysis
• AI and machine learning in risk analysis
• Nuclear safety analysis  

Education & Training:

• PhD, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, May 2018
• MS, Nuclear Engineering and Management, University of Tokyo, Japan, March 2013
• BS, Environment and Energy Systems Engineering, University of Tokyo, Japan, March 2011