Experience

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Graduate Research Assistant | August 2019 - Present

• Generated 3D Compton Images from radiation data collected at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
• Using scene data collected by a free-moving gamma-ray detector and auxilliary contextual sensor package to optimize measurement positions for quantitative gamma-ray imaging.
• Using 3D object detection and 3D semantic segmentation machine learning techniques to identify and label discrete objects in LiDAR point clouds.
• Developing genetic and other algorithmic approaches to identify optimal measurement positions for quantitative gamma-ray imaging.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Space Science & Applications Intern | May 2020 - August 2020

• Project title: Multi-pixel CdTe detector for space environment measurements
• Participated in the NSSC-LANL Keepin Summer Program - a seven week extended research internship that provides a survey of the national laboratory activities and mission space, focused research projects with a strong connection to nonproliferation science and technology, and a companion symposium series linking nuclear security science, technology, and policy.
• Developed software to analyze the charge collection in a two-pixel semiconductor detector to be used in a space radiation telescope.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Safeguards & Security Technology Intern | May 2019 - August 2019

• Project title: Improving Facility-Specific Safeguards with Data Analytics
• End of Summer Poster.
• Investigated current international safeguards methods for research reactors.
• Collected data from HFIR-REDC Pu-238 production process to determine characteristics of normal operation at a research reactor with adjacent hot cell facilities.
• Researched OCR technology to determine best tool to transcribe PDF data.
• Assembled a pandas dataframe of data collected in preliminary data hunt.
• Visualized data using python tools.
• Presented research at end of summer poster session.

Argonne National Laboratory

Nuclear Science & Engineering Intern | May 2018 - August 2018

• Developed code in Fortran to update SAS4A/SASSYS-1 input preprocessor to allow free format input.
• Extended unit testing capabilities of SAS4A/SASSYS-1.
• Discussed code changes at oral presentation.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Nuclear Engineering Undergraduate Research Assistant | January 2017 - May 2019

• Evaluated transition from an open to closed nuclear fuel cycle using Cyclus.
• Assembled input files of various fuel cycles written in XML.
• Interpreted data collected from Cyclus using Python.

Materials Science & Engineering Undergraduate Research Assistant | May 2015 - January 2017

• End of Summer Poster.
• Synthesized a sample for study using conventional solid-state synthesis.
• Conducted an in-situ high temperature x-ray diffraction (XRD) study and analyzed XRD patterns.
• Managed an x-ray diffraction instrument.
• Created and presented a poster with a summary of all work and results at The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society national conference in 2016.

Dominion Energy

Nuclear Safety Analysis Intern | May 2017 - August 2017

• Analyzed Time to Core Boil (TTCB) for various RCS conditions in GOTHIC thermal-hydraulic code resulting in more accurate TTCB estimates.
• Communicated with Surry personnel to present TTCB analysis and results in a way that would be most easily used by plant operators.
• Updated GOTHIC 8.0 to 8.2 and benchmarked important cases.
• Planned after-hour social events for interns to enjoy with a $1000 budget provided by Dominion.

Nuclear Spent Fuel Intern | August 2016 - December 2016

• Created a database of Millstone Power Station spent fuel that allows engineers to extract data for dry storage more efficiently, reducing engineering work time by at least 50%.
• Evaluated source range lengths for earlier cask loading of non-fuel core components.
• Examined fuel anomalies in North Anna fuel assemblies to qualify them for dry storage.
• Compiled design inputs to allow construction of a new Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation pad at Surry.
• Identified issue with a group of assemblies that were intended to be loaded into a dry cask.

Nuclear Core Design Intern | January 2016 - May 2016

• Reported burnup, isotopic, and monthly core follow data and ensured plant was operating as expected.
• Investigated secondary source assemblies and determine=ed that they would need to be replaced earlier than previously thought.
• Reported the startup physics testing for Surry Unit 2.
• Used CASMO to model new Surry Power Station fuel assemblies.
• Analyzed control rod drop times during startup physics testing at North Anna Unit 2.