At UIUC, we're dedicated to the professional development of our members and the furthering of their overall knowledge of nuclear sciences regarding legislation, community outreach, and engineering.
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Meet the officers and fellow members to get more involved! Check the calendar below or newsletter for the next one.
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This calendar is continually updated and contains dates for all confirmed ANS events, deadlines, and more. Interact with the calendar to find details on the location, time, and date of events. If you would like to suggest an event to host or for ANS to participate in, feel free to reach out to us!
View our Members of the Month and check out available employment opportunities and scholarships below!
Congratulations to Tommi Bachta, April's member of the month! Tommi is a freshman from Elburn, Illinois and is interested in pursuing the plasma track in NPRE. She became interested in nuclear energy due to her parents, who got her excited about the idea of fusion. During high school, she completed a passion project related to the progress of tokamak technology. One of Tommi's highlights in April was getting to present her project at Engineering Open House.
Congratulations to Ashish Kashyap, March's Member of the Month! Ashish is a first-year NPRE major from Connecticut, pursuing the plasma concentration. His interest in the plasma track is based on his desire to increase clean energy production through fusion technology. He was attracted to nuclear engineering after considering fusion's promise of clean, efficient energy at large scales, which has the potential to catalyze all forms of technological development. Since coming to University of Illinois, he has been exploring the many other uses for plasmas besides fusion, such as applications related to materials science and semiconductor manufacturing. Ashish's highlights from March were the Boy Scout's outreach event, the Braidwood plant toor, and the work he's done using CAD software and printing parts for the Plasma Toroid EOH project.
Congratulations to Joey Kerchenfaut, February's Member of the Month! Joey is a third year physics major from Minooka, Illinois. Originally his interests in physics were in condensed matter theory, but since jointing ANS, his interests have changed to high-energy nuclear physics and the strong nuclear force and how it pertains to particle interactions. He became interested in nuclear science mainly because of his dad, who worked for Constellation at Dresden Clean Energy Center, so much of Joey's knowledge of how wonderful nuclear energy is came straight from him. Joey was motivated to join ANS mainly because of how his friends described it as a good place to meet interesting people and learn useful skills, but in a short time it permanently changed his outlook on his career. One of Joey's big highlights for February is the weekly project development meetings and the OpenMC project meetings.
Sam is from Cincinnati, Ohio and is currently a sophomore pursuing the plasma concentration, with a minor in computer science. Sam chose to pursue nuclear engineering because he believes it is essential to our future as our need for energy continues to grow.
Kennedy is from Brighton, Illinois and is interested in pursuing the plasma concentration. She became interested in nuclear after Professor Ruzic gave a presentation in her ENG 101 class, which first introduced her to the program. This month, she joined a research group under Professor Curreli and she has been working in project development on the plasma speaker as the electrical lead.
Justin is from Woodridge, Illinois, and he plans on pursuing the plasma and fusion track. He got into nuclear simply because it sounded like an incredible field to pursue, plus some of his relatives had gone into the industry before. One of Justin's highlights from October is seeing project development get up and running and all of the engagement with it.
Thomas is from DC, but grew up in Maryland. Right now, he is interested in pursuing the power concentration in NPRE. Thomas got into nuclear engineering after reading about advancements in fusion technology, which he found very intriguing. Another big reason Thomas chose NPRE is due to the non-competitive and close-knit environment that he values.
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If you are unsure of who to contact, feel free to email ansatuofi@gmail.com with general questions, comments, or concerns.
rileyt3@illinois.edu
Riley Trendler is a senior in NPRE with a concentration in Plasma and Fusion. He works at the Center for Plasma Material Interactions on a flowing liquid lithium loop. Over the last two summers, he interned at Oak Ridge National Laboratory working on the Material Plasma eXposure Experiment. In his free time, Riley enjoys climbing things, 3D printing, playing violin, and hanging out with friends.
Piper is a junior in NPRE with a concentration in Plasma and Fusion. Piper conducts research in the SPEC Lab group with Professor Mohan Sankaran. Her research is focused on PFAS degradation by plasma and electrochemical methods. Outside of ANS, Piper is the Lead Engineering Learning Assistant for the NPRE department, and she enjoys baking, embroidering, and thrifting.
Nick is a junior in NPRE with a concentration in Plasma. He works at the Center for Plasma Material Interaction doing liquid lithium research under the general fusion group. Nick enjoys hanging out with friends, working out, and gaming in his free time.
Arnav is a sophomore pursuing the Fusion concentration of NPRE. He conducts PMI research on the HIDRA reactor with Dr. Andruczyk. In his free time, Arnav enjoys playing soccer, going on dark site trips, launching rockets, and hanging out with his friends.
Adam is a sophomore in NPRE with a concentration in Plasma. Adam is involved with research at the Materials Research Laboratory, working on hexagonal Boron Nitride synthesis using plasma. Adam enjoys cooking, bouldering, and gaming in their free time.
Mia is a sophomore in NPRE from Phoenix, AZ. She will be joining a research group soon. Outside of ANS, Mia is a mentor for Women in Engineering and a member of Women in Nuclear. She enjoys reading, diving, and cooking.
Jack is a sophomore in NPRE concentrating in Plasma and Fusion Science. He is also majoring in Physics (Nuclear Physics track) and is pursuing a minor in Semiconductor Engineering. He does research at the Center for Plasma-Material Interactions characterizing the interactions of tin ions in an extreme ultraviolet lithography source and works with Argonne National Laboratory calculating temperature profiles for heavy ion irradiations. Besides research, Jack enjoys playing chess, weightlifting, and competing in any and all sports.
Collin is a junior in NPRE with a concentration in Plasma and Fusion and is pursuing a minor in Semiconductor Engineering. Collin works in the Center for Plasma Material Interactions where he works on the degradation of fluoroelastomers in a plasma environment under Nick Connolly and David Ruzic. In his free time Collin mostly enjoys cooking, spending time with friends, and gaming.
Harrison is a senior in the Plasma and Fusion Science track in NPRE. Harrison has been involved in ANS since freshman year as the Outreach chair and the External Vice President. He has also conducted research for Professor Mohan Sankaran for two years on an atmospheric pressure plasma torch device. In his free time, Harrison enjoys skateboarding, playing guitar, and playing Stardew Valley!
