2019 Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Award Winners Announced

Three students at Ohio State University have won awards in the 2019 Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Technology R&D.

Kelly McCary, a Ph.D. student in Nuclear Engineering, has been awarded a First Place prize in the Open Competition in the category of Advanced Fuels. Her award-winning research paper, “Response of Distributed Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors to High-Temperature Step Transients,” was published in IEEE Sensors Journal in November 2018.

Keoni Sanny, an Undergraduate student in Civil Engineering and Nuclear Engineering, has been awarded a Second Place prize in the Open Competition in the category of Energy Policy. His award-winning research paper, “Dynamic Probabilistic Risk Assessment with PyCATSHOO: The Case of the Emergency Power Supply of a Nuclear Power Plant,” was presented at the International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis in May 2019.

Neil Taylor, a Ph.D. student in Nuclear Engineering, has been awarded a Second Place prize in the Open Competition in the category of Material Protection, Control, and Accountancy. His award-winning research paper, “Isotopic Concentration of Uranium from Alpha Spectrum of Electrodeposited Source on 4H-SiC Detector at 500º C,” was published in the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry in May 2019.

In order to be successful and retain its leadership role in nuclear technologies, the United States must foster creativity and breakthrough achievements to develop tomorrow’s nuclear technologies. The Department of Energy has long recognized that university students are an important source of breakthrough solutions and a key component in meeting its long-term goals. The Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards program was developed for this purpose.

The Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards program is designed to: 1) award graduate and undergraduate students for innovative nuclear-technology-relevant research publications, 2) demonstrate the Department of Energy’s commitment to higher education in nuclear-technology-relevant disciplines, and 3) support communications among university students and Department of Energy representatives.

The program awarded 25 prizes in 2019 for student publications relevant to innovative nuclear technology. In addition to cash awards, award-winning students will have a variety of other opportunities.

For more information on the Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards program, visit nucleartechinnovations.org