Alumni Newsletter - August 2021 |
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Hello, Class of 2021-2022 Fellows! The NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program (NGFP) welcomed aboard the Class of 2021-2022 in a virtual orientation June 14-25. Similar to last year, orientation was held over a series of half-day sessions to best accommodate the online environment.
During the first week, fellows learned about the general policies, procedures, and expectations of the fellowship and heard from featured guest speakers including NGFP Federal Program Manager Jenny Kline, PNNL Laboratory Director Steve Ashby, and National Security Directorate Associate Laboratory Director Deb Gracio. The second week featured NNSA Chief Learning Officer Julie Spyres and representatives from across the NNSA enterprise plus the Department of State and Defense Threat Reduction Agency to introduce fellows to the national security enterprise.
This year’s class comprises 63 fellows who will collectively support 12 NNSA organizations and field offices as well as the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Department of State.
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Alumni Share Firsthand Perspective. During the Class of 2021-2022 orientation, several alumni tuned in to participate in a series of panels sharing highlights and lessons learned from their fellowship experiences. Sessions welcomed the following alumni:
- Recent Fellowship Perspectives: Erin Morrissey (Class of 2020-2021), Jacob Tuia (Class of 2020-2021), Marc Wonders (Class of 2020-2021)
- Mid-Career Alumni Perspectives: Tracey-Ann Wellington (Class of 2015-2016), Staci Brown (Class of 2014-2015), Andy Hallock, (Class of 2009-2010)
- Careers within the Nuclear Security Enterprise: Gisele Irola (Class of 2013-2014), Doug Dyer (Class of 2004-2005), William Braniff (Class of 2006-2007)
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School’s Out for Summer. Spring recruitment concluded in June, with recruiters having connected with 33 university partners and hosted 42 virtual information sessions throughout the season. The recruitment team also hosted three general virtual information sessions plus a virtual information session with Minority-Serving Institution Partnership Program universities.
Do you know current or recent graduate students who might be interested in the fellowship? The Class of 2022-2023 application is open at pnnl.gov/apply-ngfp and closes October 1, 2021. Interested students can learn more by tuning into virtual information sessions in late August and September. The schedule is available on the NGFP website.
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“This course was eye-opening to understanding the process in assuring quality nuclear products internally and externally,” Anamika said.
Taught by LMJ International, the four-and-a-half-day course is designed to provide an overview of Nuclear Lead Auditor requirements stated in 10 Code of Federal Regulation 50 Appendix B, “Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants,” and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers NQA-1, “Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications.” The course explores nuclear lead auditor requirements, shared experiences illustrated by instructors and nuclear industry examples, and value-adding audit techniques used in the industry through hands-on exercises and examples.
Anamika is a fellow in the NA-LA Los Alamos Field Office, supporting the Quality Assurance and Program Integration team. She has a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas.
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Exploring Artificial Intelligence and Nonproliferation. Marc Wonders (Class of 2020-2021) was featured in the final feature in a series about explainable artificial intelligence (AI). During his fellowship with Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Marc helped coordinate leading events convening experts around the AI national security mission space.
“It has been enlightening to better understand the nuances for AI applications, and I feel better prepared to successfully apply AI in my future research to avoid pitfalls from naïve use,” said Marc.
Following his fellowship, Marc accepted a role as an applied scientist position at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
“This year reaffirmed my desire to do research and equipped me with so much knowledge to be a much more effective researcher and scientist in the national security mission space and beyond,” Marc said.
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Award-Winning Alumni. Cyrus Jabbari (Class of 2020-2021) was announced winner of the Integrated Discovery of Emerging and Novel Technologies 2020, a research competition sponsored by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to discover emerging or disruptive technologies that support the countering-WMD mission space. Part of Cyrus’s project was presenting his research on microfluidics, which included identifying emerging technologies; analyzing tactics, techniques, and procedures; and conducting a microfluidics counter-WMD risk assessment.
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Where have you been all these years? What have you been up to in your post-fellowship career? How did NGFP impact your professional trajectory? Have you taken on a new and exciting opportunity? We want to hear from you! Send us your latest career highlight and we will share it in a future newsletter!
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NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
1100 Dexter Ave N, Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98109 USA
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