Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program

Graham George, President and CEO of the Houston company EnviroKlean Product Development, Inc., presented a gift of $25,000 check to Dr. Sheldon Landsberger for the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Lab.  EPDI does environmental cleanup of radioactive wastes from the oil and gas sector in Midland. NETL has been involved in helping EPDI in analyzing the radioactive waste products to conform to US EPA regulations.

Christine Egnatuk (PhD 2012) has taken a position as a  post-doctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Lab in the Chemical Sciences Division/Safeguards, Nonproliferation and Response Group.

 Christopher is currently a Post-Masters Graduate Research Assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He is on the Criticality Safety team in NEN-2, Advanced Nuclear Technology. His current work is adjusting the critical mass fraction estimate for k_eff to more accurately estimate reactivity in the critical assemblies at the Device Assembly Facility at the Nevada National Security Site.

Bonnie Canion has been awarded a three year Nuclear Forensics Fellowship and will be continuing her PhD research at Oak Ridge National Lab. Bonnie is working on nuclear forensics research with the Nuclear Materials Detection and Characterization group at Oak Ridge National Lab.

Jack Thompson was awarded a three year Nuclear Engineering University Program (NEUP) fellowship from the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy. His research in the University of Texas’ Nuclear Robotics Group within Mechanical Engineering currently focuses on human-robot interaction in nuclear materials handling. He is developing natural user interface technology in order to advance the deployment of a new generation of advanced telemanipulation systems.

Richard Harrison ( MS 2007, PhD 2012) has taken a post-doctoral position in the nuclear forensics group at Sandia National Lab. Richard received his MS in the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program in prompt gamma activation analysis and then a PhD in the Thermal Fluids Systems group working with lasers.

Alex Fay has received the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Graduate Fellowship to spend one year in Washington DC beginning May 2013.  Through the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA's) NNSA Graduate Program (NGP), Fellows work on programs designed to counter nuclear proliferation and maintain nuclear security. (http://ngp.pnnl.gov/)

Roger Kapsimalis, PhD student in the Nuclear & Radiation Engineering Program, has received a $5000 Roy G. Post Foundation Scholarship. This award is dedicated to education for the safe management of nuclear materials. It was given to Roger based on the nuclear forensics research he is currenly doing at Oak Ridge National Lab in the rapid determination of uranium and plutonium using delayed neutron counting and for his previous work at the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Lab for uranium determination in various environmental and geological matrices using passive gamma-ray spectroscopy and neutron activation analysis. The award includes an all expense trip to theWaste Management Conference in Phoenix, AZ to accept the prize. Dr. Landsberger is his PhD supervisor.

Donald Millsap, who received his MS in December, 2012, has accepted an offer to work as a nuclear power engineer at the Knoll Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) at the Kesselring site in West Milton, New York.  The work involves maintaining and running the reactor facility onsite as well as contributing to the training mission of the US Nuclear Navy. Don will join other current distance learning students from KAPL in Albany, New York  and Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania in helping maintain the nation's Nuclear Navy program.