The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has selected Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) students Henry Rysz and Rainbow Suh, along with NSSPI graduate Ryan Coogan, to become fellows in the NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program (NGFP). The NGFP assigns fellows to a specific NNSA program or site office to work for one year. The program also includes other professional development opportunities for fellows, such as specialized training, leadership and career development, and networking with leaders across the nuclear security enterprise.
Ryan Coogan earned his M.S. degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University in Spring of 2019. He worked with his adviser Dr. Craig Marianno on strategic analysis of radiation detection portal monitors and mobile detection systems in border monitoring. Coogan earned a B.S. in physics from Michigan State University and a Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Drew University.
Henry Rysz is a graduate student working with Dr. Sunil Chirayath on uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis of a method developed by PNNL for estimating the plutonium mass contained in tanks storing high-level radioactive waste produced from nuclear fuel reprocessing at the Hanford site in the state of Washington, USA. Rysz graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 2016.
Rainbow Suh is currently working with Dr. Marianno to develop a remote monitoring system to evaluate the state-of-health of polyvinyl toluene (PVT) plastic scintillator detectors. Suh earned her B.S. in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University in 2017 with minors in physics and mathematics.