Anna Biela was one of 16 students from the nation’s most prestigious nuclear engineering programs who were brought together to discuss a variety of topics involving nuclear energy, policy, and education with key policymakers. 

School of Nuclear Engineering alumna, Anna Biela stands outside the Office of Nuclear Energy during her visit to Washington D.C. as part of the Nuclear Engineering Student Delegate program.

After discussing nuclear policies, the group spent the first day developing a policy statement for this year's delegation. Using this opportunity as a platform for change, they selected specific legislation that they believe advocacy efforts would be best focused on.

Through this, Biela said she “gained a lot of knowledge and insight into how politics, advocacy, and the federal government work and intersect with industry and academia.”

The subsequent days involved meeting with governmental agencies and pro-nuclear energy groups, including the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy where they met with Office of Nuclear Energy Senior Adviser Suzanne Jaworowski. They also visited the Nuclear Regulatory Commission where they met with three of the five commissioners (Annie Caputo, David A. Wright, and Stephen Burns).

The final days were spent meeting with representatives in the House and Senate.

Nuclear Engineering Student Delegates stand with Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory (NRC), Stephen G. Burns (middle) during their visit.

“This experience showed me advocacy isn't something we should expect other people to do for us,” said Biela, “but rather something we can, and more importantly, need to do for ourselves.”

The 2018 NESD developed three major policy priorities:

1. The Delegation recommends that Congress fund the IUP at or above FY 2018 levels to ensure robust American nuclear science and engineering expertise in the coming decades.
2. The Delegation recommends Senate passage of the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act (S.2503/H.R.589) and Congressional passage of regulatory reform bills (S.512/H.R.1320) to support U.S. leadership in the development, commercialization, and licensing of advanced nuclear energy technologies.
3. The Delegation recommends Congressional passage of the Interim Consolidated Storage Act of 2017 (H.R.474) into law to provide a path forward for removing spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants.

Biela is the only Purdue University student who has been selected for the committee since 2014 and School of Nuclear Engineering alumna, Lenka Kollar, chaired the delegation in 2011.

The American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute sponsored the delegation.