(185a) How the Nuclear Engineering Division Influenced My Career

The Nuclear Engineering Division (NED) has been my professional home for the last 25 years. As a young researcher working in pilots plants at the Savannah River Site, I began presenting each year at NED sessions. As my career progressed, I also got involved in chairing NED sessions. After my kids got into high school, I had more time to support my profession through AIChE and additionally got involved in leadership in NED, serving as chair in 2008. This was a springboard to help me get involved in other AIChE activities such as participation and leadership in the Career and Education Operating Council (chair in 2013) and being elected to the AIChE Board of Directors (2014-2016).

NED is the oldest AIChE division, established in 1954. NED may be a small division in AIChE but it has made significant impacts to our profession. The highest attendance of any AIChE webinar (presented by Stuart Arm) occurred soon after the Fukushima Nuclear disaster in Japan. The current AIChE president, Bond Calloway, got his leadership start in NED and is the 2014 recipient of the Robert E Wilson Award. A look down the list of Wilson award winners includes a number of industry giants.

My talk will focus on the people and the technology that have influenced my career. Nothing I do can be done in a vacuum so I will discuss some of the people that have impacted my career and what I have learned from them. I will share some stories about the work we did together and the impact it had on the processing of high-level radioactive waste. I am fortunate to have found work that is both rewarding to me and is of benefit to my community, my state, our nation, and even my profession. I will humbly receive an award I do not feel qualified to accept, but know that if there is any merit in my receiving it, it is due to the exceptional people who have supported me in my work.