S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Born in Tinghir, southern Morocco, engineer Youssef Morghi has studied nuclear accident prevention for several years. But it was in Brazil he decided to continue his career, dedicating himself to his doctorate and postdoctoral studies.<\/p>\n
From a small town, he moved to Fez, graduated in industrial engineering from the Moulay Ismail University (UMI) in Morocco, and obtained a master\u2019s degree in nuclear engineering from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University (USMBA), also in his home country.<\/p>\n
But in the African country, the researcher still longed to work directly inside the plants. \u201cThere are no plants in Morocco, only research centers. So, I started looking for opportunities abroad. The first contact I discovered was in Mexico, but without a scholarship. And then, I discovered CAPES on the internet,\u201d Morghi told ANBA. CAPES is the Brazilian Coordination Foundation for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, which offers research grants for higher education in Brazil.<\/p>\n
After submitting two applications, the researcher joined the Center for the Development of Nuclear Technology (CDTN) in Minas Gerais. \u201cIt worked well because they also had agreements with some countries in Africa,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Home inspiration<\/strong><\/p>\n The Moroccan\u2019s father is a professor and encouraged his academic career and studies. \u201cMy inspiration was in my home. I have two other brothers who got a master\u2019s or doctorate. My father always told us not to stop studying after the undergraduate course,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n With the result of the scholarship in Brazil, in February 2015, at first, the family was anxious, but the researcher decided to make the big move. In March of the same year, he began his studies on Brazilian soil. \u201cWhen I arrived, I only spoke English, but it was ok because the professors and students also did. I started learning Portuguese at the UFMG,\u201d<\/strong> said the researcher about the course for foreigners at the Federal University of Minas Gerais.<\/p>\n Nuclear safety<\/strong><\/p>\n The Moroccan\u2019s studies consisted mainly of simulations to predict and avoid nuclear accidents inside plants. \u201cWe perform simulations so when the reactor has a loss of coolant accident, for example, an emergency system is activated immediately to direct water to the reactor core,\u201d explained Morghi. Activities include simulations, coding, tools, and geometric designs.<\/p>\n Postdoctoral studies took place at the same institution; he continued using the knowledge from the previous research but delved deeper into the probabilistic analysis of safety. In addition, the researcher conducted studies within the Angra I nuclear plant in the city of Angra dos Reis, state of Rio de Janeiro. He completed his postdoctorate at the end of 2021.<\/p>\n Future in Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\n Now, the researcher seeks to develop his career as an engineer. \u201cIn this field, I think there are more opportunities here regarding nuclear power,\u201d he told ANBA. In addition to the workspace factor, he talked about the great reception in Brazil. \u201cIn the workplace, there is not much difference [with Morocco], I am a little shy, but here, I was already playing football in their team after two months. If it had been where people weren\u2019t friendly, maybe I wouldn\u2019t have [fitted in],\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n Another differential Morghi saw in Brazil was the diverse team. \u201cThe team on one of the projects was all foreign,\u201d he said about one of the works he developed as an engineer at the Angra I plant.<\/p>\n