Latest news & numbers
NC State Nuclear Engineering publishes a fact sheet every November in time for the ranking survey done by the U.S. News & World Report. Ranked #3 for 5 years in a row, we’re a program of excellence that is growing and making significant contributions to the discipline.
Take a look at our latest fact sheet, it provides news, research highlights, departmental faculty, enrollment, scholarships & fellowships, and graduation numbers. Click here for details.
THE ALUMNI CORNER
Welcome to our new alumni section of the NC State nuclear engineering newsletter. Here we shine a spotlight on Honored and Rising Star Alumnus and get their insight into nuclear engineering and experiences at NC State. Now let’s see what our alumni are up to!
Alumni Rising Star: Joseph Orellana
Joseph Orellana started his career in the GE-Hitachi Edison Program and is on leave from his position as Lead Transient Systems Engineer. He is currently the 2023 ANS/AAAS Congressional Fellow and we interviewed him for the Alumni Corner.
Check out ‘why he became a fellow?’, career advice for current students, and ‘how nuclear engineering at NC State prepared him?’. Click here for spotlight.
Honored Alumnus: Alan Icenhour
Dr. Alan Icenhour started his career as a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine officer, and recently retired as Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Science and Engineering at the ORNL after 30 years. He chairs the NC State Nuclear Engineering Advisory Board (NEDAC), and has been a Distinguished Alumni Speaker. He has received the NC State Distinguished Engineering Alumnus award, and has been inducted into the NE Nuclear Engineering Wall of Fame.
We had a chance to ask Dr. Icenhour about his experiences at NC State and throughout his illustrious career in nuclear engineering. Here he shares his thoughts on the industry and gives advice to the next generation.
Alumna participated in IAEA Lise Meitner Program
Shana Johnson (BS NE ’22), an Entergy nuclear engineer for Waterford 3 Steam Electric Station, was selected for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Lise Meitner Programme from a pool of worldwide applicants. Click here for story.
Calling all Alumni!
Are you an alumnus of the nuclear engineering department at NC State?
Tell us what you’re up to; we’d love to know! Please reach out to us and
provide a few sentences of your thoughts on all things nuclear, your experience at NC State, and how that has impacted your career.
Giving to the NC State Nuclear Engineering
Help us prepare the next generation of students! You can do so by donating to any of these funds — the nuclear engineering enhancement fund, the K-20 outreach fund, scholarships & fellowships, &/or the faculty development fund.
CURRENT STUDENTS
Bland and Moss participated in 2023 Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation
Each year students from across the U.S. participate in the Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation (NESD) program. Two of our graduate students, Hayden Bland and Laura Moss, engaged with senators and congress people in Washington DC. They provided student perspectives on issues, legislation and initiatives that impact nuclear science and technology. Click here for story.
Senior design team compete at ANS Winter Meeting
Maddison Barber (GE-Hitachi), May Wells (Duke Energy) and Alex Chaisson (Navy) were the NC State finalists. The paper was entitled “Event Sequence Analysis to Support a Full Scope Dynamic Probabilistic Risk Assessment Framework for the PULSTAR Research Reactor”. Their faculty adviser was Dr. Mihai Diaconeasa. Click here for story including our other senior design projects.
Students present at the ANS Winter Meeting
Strong representation from the Department’s undergraduate and graduate students at the recent ANS Winter Meeting in Washington, DC. Students are undergraduate research scholars and/or doctoral students of Drs. Xu Wu, Alexander Bataller, Ayman Hawari, and Jason Hou. Click here for story.
Alsaeed wins student poster prize at American Vacuum Society Symposium
Congratulations Omar Alsaeed, recipient of a student poster prize at the American Vacuum Society (AVS) 69th International Symposium. His research was entitled “Stability Model for Inductively Coupled Radiofrequency Discharges”. Omar is a doctoral student, advised by Dr. Amanda Leitz.
ASME SERAD 2023 Graduate Student Safety Innovation Challenge Contest Winners
Congratulations to Arjun Earthperson, Egemen M. Aras, and Asmaa S. Farag, doctoral students in the Probabilistic Risk (PRA) Group at NC State Nuclear Engineering. They were awarded the Graduate Student Winner prize of the ASME SERAD 2023 Student Safety Innovation Challenge for Introducing OpenPRA: A Web-based Framework for Collaborative Probabilistic Risk Assessment”. Click here for story.
Students take top prizes at APS – GEC
Congratulations to Nicholas Sponsel, a GEC Student Excellence Award Finalist, and María Herrera Quesada, one of the three poster prizes. Both doctoral students are advised by Dr. Katharina Stapelmann. Click here for full list of oral and poster presentations.
Students present at APS – DPP Conference
There was strong representation from the Department’s undergraduate and graduate students at the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society – Division of Plasma Physics (APS-DPP) held in Denver, CO. Click here for details on our student scholars.
Lockhart and Webster hold NNIS Graduate Fellowships
Madeline Lockhart and S. Owen Webster hold the highly competitive Nuclear Nonproliferation International Safeguards (NNIS) Graduate Fellowship. They are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), supporting research on the development of policies, concepts, technologies, expertise, infrastructure, and human capital necessary to sustain and enhance international nuclear safeguards. Click here for story.
Wasay presents at 76th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics
Sultan Wasay presented at the APS-DFD Annual Meeting. His co-authors included Jialong Shen, and Sonja Salmon. Their research work was entitled “Direct Numerical Simulation for Flooding Behaviour in the Counter-Current Gas/Liquid Flow Systems for Carbon Capture Efficiency”. Dr. Igor Bolotnov serves as faculty adviser. Click here for story.
Semester Visit to GEH Fuel Fabrication Facility
NC State nuclear engineering students, with Cape Fear Community College nuclear technology students and instructor, visited GE-Hitachi. It was an opportunity to hear from the vendor, interact with professionals esp. alumni, and tour their fuel fabrication facility. Contact Professor Marshall if you like to host an industrial visit.
STAFF & FACULTY
Wicks retires after 30 years of service
Gerald Wicks, reactor health physicist and senior reactor operator, retired this past September after 30 years of service. He leaves behind a legacy of service, co-teaching the ‘Radiation Safety and Shielding’ course with Professor Yousry Azmy. An active professional, serving as president of the Health Physics Society North Carolina Chapter in 2005, and as their secretary from 2000-2003.
Marshall & Tsorxe participated in international nuclear energy program
Professor Lisa Marshall served as workshop chair for the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)-Romania Nuclear Energy Summit.
Doctoral student Innocent Tsorxe & Professor Marshall served as panelists during the U.S. Department of Energy-hosted US-Africa Nuclear Energy Summit. Lisa also collaborated with OECD NEA on a girls’ mentoring program while in Accra, Ghana.
Diaconeasa received ANS David Okrent Award
Dr. Mihai A. Diaconeasa, assistant professor of nuclear engineering at NC State University, received the ANS David Okrent Award for Nuclear Safety. The award is open to ANS members under the age of 40 (at the time of nomination) active in the field of nuclear safety.