Nuclear Science and Engineering

Kyzer Gerez says he has been set on a career in nuclear engineering ever since he was in grade school in Philadelphia.

In May, Gerez, was awarded a Barry Goldwater scholarship. Gerez is a junior in the Oregon State University College of Engineering’s School of Nuclear Science and Engineering. The competitive scholarship program, named in honor of the late senator from Arizona, was created by Congress in 1986 to encourage students to pursue research careers in math, natural sciences, and engineering.

“What if the worst-case scenario actually happens?” That’s the introductory text on the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s webpage about its Nuclear Survivability research. The DTRA is responsible for asking the sometimes horrifying questions of what the effects would be of nuclear war.

Without asking, it’s impossible to find the answers.

When Hank (’50 B.S., Mechanical Engineering, ’01 Engineering Hall of Fame) and Janice Schuette established the School of Nuclear Science and Engineering’s first endowed chair, they created a legacy that continues to help NSE faculty make lasting impacts in the field.

On Nov. 14, 2017, the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) at the 890-square-mile Idaho National Laboratory site jumped to life for the first time in 23 years. In the run-up to that moment, technicians and engineers in the Cold War-era control room, a half-mile from the reactor itself, nudged the core until the fission reaction became self-sustaining. 

The radiation health physics master’s degree program, one of the most prestigious in the country, is available online through Oregon State University Ecampus.

Heather Bell’s decision to return to school doesn’t only serve her own best interests by providing a new scientific skill set to advance her career – her expanding expertise will also result in stronger global nuclear policy and protection.

Yes, you read that correctly. Her job is that important.

Even as a teen in Los Angeles, Juwan Johnson knew he wanted to study nuclear fusion. But his path to Oregon State University started as a major detour in his life’s plan.

“I’ve always been in love with science,” said Johnson, now a senior majoring in nuclear engineering. “I had an obsession with the stars. In my room when I was growing up, my mom had the ceiling covered with the little plastic stars that would glow in the dark. She always told me the sky is the limit.”

In September 2017, a series of earth-rippling shivers caught the attention of scientists around the globe. At first blush, the seismic activity suggested an earthquake with an approximate magnitude of 6.0. Then, as the source of the vibrations became clear, government agencies and heads of state began to take close notice.

Eventually, it was discovered that North Korea had detonated a nuclear weapon several hundred feet below ground. The weapon was the largest the country had tested, with several times the explosive power of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“I never take no for an answer,” says Charlotte Rose, a graduate student at Oregon State University who is working toward a master’s degree in radiation health physics with a minor in statistics.

It’s that kind of persistence that Rose, a single mother, needed to get where she is today.

Rose was raised in a blue-collar community in Winnipeg, Canada and worked for 12 years as an X-ray technologist.

The newest faculty member in the College of Engineering’s School of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) has been at Oregon State University for more than 20 years.

Steven R. Reese was promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure earlier this year. But he has worked at Oregon State in association with the college since 1997, serving as director of the Radiation Center since 2005. Reese says the upgrade to his position and job title came as a pleasant surprise.

You know what’s a nice reward after countless hours in the lab running simulations, tweaking designs, and poring over results? Happy hours and late-night specials at the eateries, watering holes, and hideaways on Monroe Avenue have plenty of options. Even better: national recognition that your work sets the standard for excellence.