Jonathan Balog
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Jonathan Balog - Materials for Nuclear Power Group
Jonathan is a Rickover Fellow from Canonsburg, PA pursuing a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering at Penn State. His research focuses on how stress and irradiation affect hydride precipitation/dissolution kinetics in zirconium alloys using in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction. He has written several beamtime proposals, including a successful NSUF Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) proposal for experiments at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). He is a dual-degree graduate of Penn State, holding B.S. in Mechanical as well as Nuclear Engineering, with a minor in Engineering Mechanics.
Jonathan has worn and continues to wear many hats at Penn State. He served as the Technical Chair for the 2024 ANS Student Conference hosted by Penn State, organizing many of the plenary and panel speakers as well as creating the overall technical program. Jonathan currently serves as the Networking Coordinator and Book Club organizer for the Penn State INMM chapter, where he also served as Secretary and Webmaster. Jonathan has also been the President of the PSU Community Garden since 2022 where he helps gardeners grow not only food, but a welcoming and inclusive community. Outside of research, Jonathan loves to watch/play soccer as well as lacrosse, read any book he can get his hands on, go on 5-10km runs, and 3D print on his Elegoo or Prusa printers!