The Advisory Board met on April 23 to discuss the state of the School and participated in judging posters during the Senior Design Technical Poster Showcase.  The Advisory Board consists of distinguished members from nuclear engineering industry, national laboratory, government, and academia. They directly impact the success of our educational and research programs and is one of the most important committees for the School. We are extremely thankful to our members for their guidance for the continued success of our programs.  Short biographies of the new members are shown below.  Complete biographical sketches for all NEAB members are available in our Advisory Board section.

Lenka Kollar is the Director of Strategy & External Relations at NuScale Power where she is working to bring NuScale’s small modular reactor to market through business development and engagement in the clean energy sector. She has been invited to speak on energy innovation and the potential of small modular reactors to provide electricity and clean water around the world in a variety of different forums, such as the Women in Cleantech and Sustainability Talks at Google and the United Nations Climate Talks, COP23 in Germany.

Previously, Ms. Kollar was an Associate Communication Officer at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) where she worked on external and internal communication for the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy. Prior to that, she consulted with public and private sector organizations on nuclear energy policy, public communications, and marketing strategy, along with writing an informational blog called Nuclear Undone. Ms. Kollar also served as a technical associate in non-proliferation policy at the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration and at Argonne National Laboratory.

Currently, Ms. Kollar is the External Communications and International Relations Chair of the International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC) 2020 Executive Team. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Generation Atomic.

Ms. Kollar obtained her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she focused her Master’s research on international safeguards of used nuclear fuel. She received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from INSEAD in France, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

Maria Korsnick is president and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear industry’s policy organization in Washington, D.C.

Drawing on her engineering background, hands-on experience in reactor operations and a deep knowledge of energy policy and regulatory issues, Korsnick aims to increase understanding of nuclear energy’s economic and environmental benefits among policymakers and the public.

Before joining NEI, she was senior vice president of Northeast Operations for Exelon, responsible for overseeing operation of the Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2, R.E. Ginna, and Nine Mile Point 1 and 2 nuclear power plants.

Before Exelon, Korsnick served as chief nuclear officer (CNO) and acting chief executive officer at Constellation Energy Nuclear Group. She began her career at Constellation in 1986 and held positions of increasing responsibility, including engineer, operator, manager, site vice president, corporate vice president, and CNO.

Korsnick holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Maryland, and has held a Senior Reactor Operator license. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two children.

Other members of the NEAB:

• Jack S. Brenizer (Chair)
• Said I. Abdel-Khalik
• Jean-Marc Delhaye
• John S. Gilligan
• Terry L. Grimm
• Timothy K. Hanley
• Hussein S. Khalil
• Gerald S. Kulcinski
• Corey K. McDaniel
• Thomas A. Mehlhorn