2020 Delegation

Chair

Jillian Newmyer

Jillian Newmyer is a second year graduate student in Radiation Health Physics at Oregon State University. Her current research focus is evaluating radionuclide uptake in frogs around Fukushima. She graduated from the University of Tennessee with a BS in Nuclear Engineering and a minor in physics. She is originally from Columbia, South Carolina, where her interest in the nuclear industry was peaked due to the closeness of the VC Summer Nuclear Power Plant. She has previously interned at Plant Hatch in Baxley, GA in the Reactor Engineering Department and at SHINE Medical Technologies as a criticality safety intern.

She enjoys spending her free time teaching nuclear science to little kids, catching up on Netflix shows, and playing one of her many board games.

Co-Vice Chairs

Evan Gonzalez

Evan is a fourth year PhD student at University of Michigan. His research focuses on developing transient Monte Carlo methods for radiation transport. He was a Texas-NESD delegate in 2017, a NESD delegate in 2019, and a NESD co-vice chair in 2020. He has interned at Los Alamos, Argonne, and Oak Ridge National Laboratories and hopes to establish a career as a research scientist after graduation.

W. Robb Stewart

Robbie is a second year PhD candidate in Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) researching market requirements for nuclear, plant cost, and design optimization. Before coming to MIT, he completed his BS and MS in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas and went to work for the GE Global Research Center (GRC) for four years. At GRC, he led research projects for GE Aviation in gas turbine heat transfer, cumulative damage modeling, and reliability analysis with Bayesian networks. His spare time is split between frisbee, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and church. Within NSE, Robbie coordinates seminars with external speakers and is a communication lab fellow.

Delegates

Samuel D’Amico

Samuel D’Amico is a second year law student at the University of Wisconsin and is expecting to graduate in 2021. He graduated from Idaho State University in 2018 with a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering and a B.A. in Political Science. He intends to practice law in the nuclear industry, with an emphasis on policy and regulation. He has previous experience working in communications and data analysis for Idaho National Laboratory, and as a laboratory assistant at the Idaho Accelerator Center.

Samuel was born and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, and enjoys camping, hiking, fishing, skiing, and mountain biking.

Dinara Ermakova

Alyssa Hayes

Alyssa Hayes is a 2nd-year Nuclear Engineering Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee. She received her bachelor’s degree in Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a graduate researcher and a member of the Fusion Energy Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Alyssa simulates plasma-material interactions in fusion reactors. Currently, she is investigating impurity transport in the scrape-off layer between the main plasma and the material wall.

Within the Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of Tennessee, Alyssa serves as the current Co- Chair of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Committee. As an undergraduate, she has served as the President of the Women in Nuclear student chapter and the Outreach Chair of the American Nuclear Society student chapter. Alyssa first became politically active during her internship for Illinois State Senator Melinda Bush. She continues to be passionate about equity, outreach, and service in STEM education today.

Brent Hollrah

Brent graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and minors in Nuclear Engineering and Physics. In the Fall of 2018, he joined Texas A&M as a graduate student to study nuclear thermal hydraulics. He has also spent three summers at Argonne National Lab working with researchers to study next generation nuclear reactors. Brent graduated in December 2020 with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He is now at continuing his education at Texas A&M by pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering, maintaining a focus on thermal hydraulic analysis of advanced nuclear reactors. In the Spring of 2019 Brent participated in the Texas Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation and, in Summer 2020, Brent was a member of the National Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation.

Peter Hotvedt

Peter Hotvedt is a first year PhD studying at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His research focus on gamma ray radiation imaging and measurement through the use of room-temperature semiconductor detectors. When not studying, Peter does work as an eLearning Voiceover Artist, and enjoys running, streaming, and voice acting.

Madeline Lockhart

Madeline Lockhart is a third-year Ph.D. student and Nuclear Nonproliferation and International Safeguards (NNIS) fellow at North Carolina State University. She collaborates with Los Alamos National Laboratory on international safeguards, nonproliferation, and radiation detection research. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Physics from Texas Tech University in 2020 and serves on the Advisory Board for the College of Arts & Sciences.

Ralph Wiser

Ralph is a second year PhD student at the MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering department. At NSE he studies computational fluid dynamics methods, and he focuses on developing methods for improved heat transfer predictions in advanced reactor coolants such as liquid sodium and molten salt. He has worked on the conceptual development of the Versatile Test Reactor, which will provide a novel testing and data collection environment for advanced reactor materials. Outside of MIT Ralph enjoys hiking, walking the dog, and talking with people about the future of zero-carbon energy.