Twelve undergraduates and six graduate students were inducted into Alpha Nu Sigma, a nuclear engineering honor society, on March 20. The induction ceremony came a week after the Nuclear Engineering Annual Senior Recognition dinner, during which graduating seniors were celebrated.
Department of Nuclear Engineering celebrates students
5/7/2019
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Students in Penn State’s College of Engineering are making their mark on the Department of Nuclear Engineering. As the semester comes to a close, the department continues to recognize the successes of undergraduate and graduate students.
On March 13, graduating seniors celebrated their achievements at the Nuclear Engineering Annual Senior Recognition Dinner at the Nittany Lion Inn.
“We hold this event every spring to honor our top performing students as they prepare to graduate,” said Arthur Motta, professor of nuclear engineering and the interim department head. “We specifically have the dinner during the Industrial and Professional Advisory Council meeting to encourage networking between current and graduating students and our alumni.”
During the dinner, 11 students were recognized for their academic performances, as well as for essays they wrote about becoming nuclear engineers. Each student received a $1,500 Exelon Scholarship, sponsored by the Exelon Corporation. The students were Jonathan Balog, class of 2019; Jocelynn Kelly, class of 2020; Misael Carlos Vera, class of 2020; Garrett Wendel, class of 2020; Evan Klim, class of 2019; Christopher Balbier, class of 2020; Adam Bowers, class of 2021; Sean Kosslow, class of 2021; Jon Cowart, class of 2021; Melissa Morgan, class of 2019; and Cailon Frank, class of 2021.
Nicholas Osmond and Nicholas Grenci, both graduating this spring, received the Brennan Award for Excellence in Nuclear Engineering. The award recognizes outstanding academic achievements. Osmond has accepted an offer to work for Naval Nuclear Laboratories, and Grenci will begin his graduate studies in nuclear engineering at Penn State in fall 2019.
Emily Humes, also a graduating senior, received the Beecher-Loftus Leadership and Service Award in Nuclear Engineering. Endowed by Pat Loftus, nuclear engineering alumna, the award recognizes one student a year who has gone above and beyond in acts of service and leadership related to nuclear engineering. Humes will join the Engineering Leadership Development Program at the Naval Nuclear Laboratories after graduation.
“Emily has embodied the ideal candidate for this award during her time at Penn State,” Motta said. “She served as the president of the student chapter of the American Nuclear Society twice, and as president of the Alpha Nu Sigma honors society.”
A week after the dinner, on March 20, Humes co-hosted the annual induction ceremony for Alpha Nu Sigma with Matt Durbin, the society’s secretary. In order to join the society, students must be in the top quarter of their cohorts as third-year students, or in the top third of seniors, or the top third of graduate students.
Twelve undergraduate students and six graduate students were inducted during a dinner at the Atherton Hotel. Also in attendance were the society’s adviser, Marek Flaska, professor of nuclear engineering, Motta, and several other faculty members.
The officers for the 2019-2020 academic year were also elected at the event:
- President: David Reger
- Vice President: Pierre-Clément Simon
- Treasurer: Ryan Fritz
- Secretary: Jocelyn Kelly
“We’re a small department, but our students consistently excel academically. In addition to their studies, they also contribute to the community and excellence of the department and the field of nuclear engineering through their extracurricular activities,” Motta said. “We’re proud to have these individuals as our students and our soon-to-be alumni.”
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