The four-year fellowship is intended to provide education on the maintenance and development of science and engineering technology pertaining to naval nuclear propulsion and advancing fission energy development.

During his fellowship, Ryan will conduct research on reactor thermal hydraulics and two-phase flow. He will spend two summers at one of the Naval Nuclear Laboratories and work at one of the labs for two years after obtaining his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at Purdue.

"I'm excited to have this opportunity for my graduate work,” said Ryan. “The Naval Nuclear Labs are known for their high-quality work and their history of excellence, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with them. I'm still a little in shock that I was chosen for this honor, but I think that I can do some amazing work with these labs."

Ryan will be receiving his bachelors in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University this month. During his undergraduate career, he completed research with Dr. Robert Bean in a variety of fields and also completed work on an advanced reactor safety analysis software at Argonne National Lab.