CAES REU Program is under way

Ten students are taking part in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU): Advanced Manufacturing for a Sustainable Energy Future at CAES through the end of July.

Five students were selected from Idaho's 2-year and 4-year institutions in Idaho and five students were picked from a pool of applicants from across the nation. The cohort is working alongside faculty from the CAES universities and INL researchers to assist on projects related to advanced manufacturing that leverage new capabilities at CAES, including a state-of-the-art transmission electron microscope and a suite of instruments for advanced manufacturing of sensors and instrumentation for extreme environments.

A $365K grant from the National Science Foundation led to the creation of the program, which will run 10 weeks each summer through 2024 and is designed to give students hands-on research experiences and networking opportunities to develop their STEM identity and literacy, while also providing professional development opportunities for careers in the energy sector.

The following undergraduate students are REU Fellows this summer:

  • Lydia Beardsley, University of Idaho
  • Miranda Cardenas, University of Utah
  • Dylan Cox, Oregon State University
  • Stratton Jenks, University of Idaho
  • Minh Nguyen, Idaho State University
  • Josh Peck, Idaho State University
  • Hayden Pritchard, University of Montana
  • Avery Rambur, College of Idaho
  • Katelyn Shadley, University of Idaho
  • Hannah Smith, University of Utah

Here is a look at their projects:

Lydia Beardsley: Development of High-Temperature Resistant Permanent Magnets Using Advanced Manufacturing
• Faculty Mentor: Dan LaBrier, Idaho State University
• INL Mentor: Bryce Kelly
Katelyn Shadley and Dylan Cox: 3D Li-ion Batteries through Advanced Manufacturing
• Faculty Mentor: Claire Xiong, Boise State University
• INL Mentor: Bin Li
Stratton Jenks and Joshua Peck: Advanced Manufacturing for Bulk Storage of Hydrogen
• Faculty Mentors: Mustafa Mashal & Bruce Savage, Idaho State University
• INL Mentor: Kunal Mondal
Minh Nguyen: Novel Alloy Development for Nuclear Applications
• Faculty Mentor: Brian Jaques, Boise State University
• INL Mentor: Boone Beausoleil
Hayden Pritchard: Corrosion Performance of Additively Manufactured Structured Materials
• Faculty Mentor: Mike Hurley, Boise State University
• INL Mentor: Donna Guillen
Miranda Cardenas: Multiphysics Modeling and Experimental Characterization of Printed Magnetostrictive Acoustic Sensors
• Faculty Mentor: Dan Deng, Boise State University
• INL Mentor: Josh Daw
Hannah Smith: Modeling and Optimization of Advanced Manufacturing Processes
• Faculty Mentor: Lan Li, Boise State University
• INL Mentor: Michael McMurtrey
Avery Rambur: Classical Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Nuclear Material
• Faculty Mentor: John Russell, University of Idaho
• INL Mentor: TBD