Faculty, staff, and students received various internal and external awards at the department’s Spring Recognition Seminar. The following individuals were honored:

Sometimes you can’t get somewhere, but you still have to see inside. That’s as true for the hidden chambers of the Egyptian pyramids as it is for the handling and non-proliferation of nuclear fuel. A little bit of artificial intelligence (AI) can come in handy.

Each Spring, the College of Engineering recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of our graduate students and postdoctoral research assistants through several awards.

Drew Ryan, doctoral candidate at the School of Nuclear Engineering (NE), won the Best Movie Award at the 19th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH 19). The conference took place virtually this year.

Lenka Kollar is the co-founder of Helixos, a Sydney, Australia-based company with a vision to “reinvent the entire journey of technology development and deployment – from ideas to impact.” For almost two years, Kollar has worked with global clients to pursue projects focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Arvind Sundaram, doctoral candidate at the School of Nuclear Engineering (NE), is the department’s inaugural recipient of the Graduate Research Recognition Seminar Award. Starting this year, the award will be given annually to graduate students according to specified merit.

Thomas Poindexter is currently the Principal Owner at Nukelaw LCC, a Washington D.C.-based firm. For the past 45 years, he has represented nuclear energy clients and nuclear power plants in licensing and regulatory matters before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). He was a key partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and Winston & Shawn. He has also assisted in regulatory, investigative, and enforcement matters in the United States, Canada and the UAE. While prolific and exceptional, his forged path was not intentional, but rather a gradual discovery of interests.

Junghyun Bae, doctoral candidate at the School of Nuclear Engineering (NE), and Stylianos Chatzidakis, assistant professor and advisor, were recently published in Scientific Reports, volume 12, for their intensive research on cosmic ray muons.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has grown to be viewed as a magical tool. The nearly human intelligence we have taught machines to develop and use has become essential to advancing science, engineering and security. From the smart fridge to the smart grid, AI leverages unprecedented levels of available data and computer power, offering tremendous potential to uncover hidden patterns in big data for scientific discovery and performance improvement.

Rusi Taleyarkhan, professor at the School of Nuclear Engineering (NE), and his team were recognized for their research on the front cover of the February issue of the British Royal Society Journal. The featured research article focuses on novel hybrid mass-alpha spectroscopy technology.