From an early age my parents challenged me to excel academically. My family is of mixed Hispanic-Anglo background. My father was born in Mexico, came to the US and was able to join the Air Force. He eventually was a member of a maintenance team on the B2 bomber program. My mother is Anglo and worked a variety of jobs in the service industry then working in a shipyard before managing to get a civil service job building ships for the Navy. As soon as I was able, I took part time employment and saved a portion of it for my future education. I have been able to maintain an excellent grade point average while attending a STEM focused high school. I am a National Honor Society member, a member of the National Spanish Honor Society, received two Women’s Awards for Aspirations in Computing, a member of the National Hispanic Recognition Program for academic achievement and have received a School Director’s award for being an outstanding musician and performer. I have had a number of part time jobs including opening, operating and closing a small store as manager. I have been honored to become the President of the National Charity League and received an award for 130 hours of volunteer work. In school I have been the Secretary, Treasurer and President of the Spanish Club, a Captain on the Community Lacrosse team and played Oboe in the County Orchestra. I also participated in a school sponsored garage band playing Bass Guitar and singing vocals. While participating in the school garage band, I also published sheet music. I worked at a variety of part time jobs, including Walgreens, and Cracker Barrel, with the goal of saving money for college. While I have been ambitious, I have fallen short of my financial goals and am seeking scholarships to address college expenses. My hard work has taught me the value of a dollar and inspired me to seek a professional career. I am very interested in Mathematics and Science and hope to earn a degree in applied physics and nuclear engineering. Over the next 25 years, the power needs of the American public will grow significantly. Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Coal and Natural Gas have power densities that are insufficient to meet those needs. Nuclear power, in contrast, is reliable, flexible, and presents very few emissions when compared with all other power sources. Nuclear safety, a key function of Nuclear Engineers, has improved significantly when engineering controls are properly designed and implemented. Legacy designs are at least a generation old, the average age of a nuclear power plant in the US is 42 years. It is projected U.S. energy consumption will continue to grow through 2050 as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency gains. While socially popular, solar and wind are significantly less power dense and present rising ownership costs. New technology, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), produce about one third the capacity of traditional reactors. They are small, typically much smaller than a normal nuclear reactor, and are modular and scalable. They can be assembled as a unit in a factory and shipped to the origin of need. Legacy reactor designs were typically custom designed for a particular location, were often difficult and time consuming to emplace, and were not easily modified to produce additional power as needs changed. An advantage of the new technology is they can be positioned in remote locations without the environmental costs and loss considerations of long transmission lines. New technology reactors are generally less complex and do not rely upon active engineering controls. The technologies significantly lower or eliminate traditional safety concerns. These designs operate with less frequent refueling requirements, with some operating for 30 years without the need to be refueled. Multiple SMR based power generation units can be designed to scale up when power needs change and could even be used as backups to other sources of power. The advent of SMR makes it possible to improve safety standards. International collaboration will make it possible to standardize to produce affordable, reliable, and sustainable power to meet the needs of the future. Nuclear engineers will be needed to design, install and monitor power networks to ensure safety. I would like to be a part of this future. I have grown up in the era of having technology at my fingertips while my mother tells me of receiving her first computer....the blocky design and how she entered in "MS DOS". I am able to see those images through pictures and her eyes. However, all of the technology we have been brought up with has created so many consumer market issues--rising costs for energy and oil, cities in which people have to wear mask due to pollution. If we can build and provide cleaner, more economical energy through nuclear resources, who wouldn't want that?

Since my seventh grade year, I have been a member of the National Charity League (NCL) in the Eastern Shore Chapter for the Class of 2024. I have enjoyed my time there; however, when I first joined it always felt off. I did not know anyone, as no one joined from my school or my hometown. Everyone already knew each other; they had a certain look and a certain clique to them, and I was the opposite of it. They wore clothes I did not own, owned things I could not own, and had experiences I could never have. I was the only person in the organization from a different ethnicity and background. For several months, and even years, I was ostracized, regardless of my attempts to socialize. Throughout the next couple of years, I always put forth my best effort to contribute to the success of NCL’s class of 2024. I had the second-to-most volunteer hours and showed exemplary character to both my organization and the organizations I volunteered. By my freshman year, my work started to pay off. That year, I was awarded for exemplary character and for volunteer and leadership hour recognitions. I began to feel more comfortable and and involved myself in fellows’ conversations and ideas for the future of the class and its contribution to our local community. I became familiar with them, and I continued my progress toward self-improvement and volunteering. As the class board elections rolled around for the upcoming sophomore year, I had low expectations on where, or if, I would be placed. They handed out the ballots and, surprisingly, people had elected me the position of secretary for the following year. I was astounded. I worked hard within my role of secretary, by keeping track of our meetings and our plans to volunteer as a community. Through this, I ultimately learned a skill of social and community organization. I was always on time and consistent with my presence during meetings. I was truly able to involve myself with everyone in the chapter that year. Continuing that, I kept up with my persistence in the organization and the chapter, and the next year I was elected for the president position. From the beginning, I felt I could not make a difference in my own life and the people around me. Because the people I surrounded myself with, were people who were different from me. I joined the organization to learn and volunteer, but at the beginning, I didn’t think I would get through it, with the social repulsion I was shown. Despite the challenge of a social adversary, I first worked hard to apply myself to charity organizations to make a difference among those who needed community. I found joy in my work, and I continued to strive for more. I was able to embrace that concept and strive to teach others it in guidance. My opportunity to be the secretary and president allowed me to put forth that concept, and I helped create a community and organization within our class that allowed everyone to learn the values of leadership and community among themselves. I believed I could not be a leader through charity, but in the end, I was able to harbor a community that showed anyone can accomplish this task with pride.

My family has long encouraged me to do well academically. I have been honored to be a member of the National Honor Society and National Spanish Honor Society. I have been awarded a Woman’s Award for Aspiration in Computing, am a member of the National Hispanic Recognition Program for academic achievement and am a recipient of the Music Director’s Award for Outstanding Musician and Performer for 2023-2024 while attending the Alabama School of Math and Science since 2022. While a High School student, I conducted research through the University of South Alabama Fellowship Program evaluating terrestrial radiation along the Alabama Gulf Coast and methods to reduce it. I am also creating a program based on Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) machines to emulate today’s nuclear engineering capabilities. I have been active in my community as President and Secretary of the 2024 Class National Charity League, receiving an award for exemplary character and role model in personality, academia, leadership and volunteer/charity work serving over 160 hours in the community. To save money for college, I have worked part time at a number of jobs. I learned to solve problems and guide customers as the manager of a small thrift store as well as working at Walgreens as a customer service associate and in the service industry for Cracker Barrel. My extracurricular activities have included being Secretary, Treasurer and President of the Spanish Club, and Captain of the Community Lacrosse team. I am a member of my high school symphonic, serving as the section leader of the oboes, garage band and the Baldwin County Orchestra. I have also been a member of Lambda, the school’s vocal organization. I did this while maintaining a high-grade point average. I have been a member of the Alabama School of Math and Science President’s club for having a GPA of 4.0 several times. I am hopeful I will be able to do work that will make a difference in supplying the energy resources necessary for the nation to prosper economically. This is especially important for members of the community that do not have access to reliable utilities. A family should not have to make a choice between utilities, food, transportation or information access. When those essentials, taken for granted by many, are not available it is very difficult to climb out of the disadvantages it presents. I believe that inexpensive abundant energy could be available for all and I would like to make that come true. Alternatively, or once that goal is reached, nuclear powered space flight is next. Our current means of fuel for space exploration will not last as society continues to strive toward the stars. We will run into barriers from what can launch us, and keep us, in space. If we plan to travel for years, we will require another power source to keep humans alive and content for the journey. As how submarines are powered by nuclear energy, we can transfer this means into spacecraft. I will explore the ability to create compact, stable reactors in spacecraft, which can kick-start an entire new generation of research geared toward space. While maintaining an environmentally safe alternative to how we live currently, I want to research prospects of how to further revolutionize modern life through nuclear power. My research within the environment and experiences with programming have helped me gain a greater understanding of my current abilities, and how to effectively revise them to allow me to enter into the modern age of nuclear-powered flight. I am entering the University of Tennessee to ultimately obtain a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering.

Many women, especially Hispanic/Latino women, are underrepresented in nuclear engineering. U.S. Women in Nuclear Global, founded in 1993, only has 35,000 members over 109 countries. SWE, Society of Women Engineers, boasts merely 40,000 members. According to the United States Bureau Labor of Statistics, approximately 2 million engineers resided in the United States and only 14% were women. Drilling down further, only 13% were “underrepresented racial and ethnic groups”, we can conclude an even smaller minority of female Latino engineers. Helping to lead other women to know they can achieve their ambitions is important to me. Our current means of fuel for space exploration will not last as society continues to strive toward the stars. We will run into barriers from what can launch us, and keep us, in space. If we plan to travel for months and years, we will require another power source to keep humans alive and content for the journey. As how submarines are powered by nuclear energy, we can transfer this means into spacecraft. I want to explore the ability to create compact, stable reactors in spacecraft, which can kick-start an entire new generation of research geared toward space. While maintaining an environmentally safe alternative to how we live currently, I want to research prospects of how to further revolutionize modern life through nuclear power. I have participated in the University of South Alabama and Alabama School of Math and Science Research Fellowship Program conducting research on terrestrial radiation on the Gulf Coast to help monitor levels of radioactive materials humans have released near the shore and means of mitigating it. I am also creating a program based on Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) machines to emulate today’s nuclear engineering capabilities. My research within the environment and experiences with programming have helped me gain a greater understanding of my current abilities, and how to effectively revise them to allow me to enter into the modern age of nuclear-powered flight. I am entering the Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee to ultimately obtain a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering. Having a professional science and technology degree is an essential step towards that goal. My mother is a single parent, and she has struggled to give me a good home, educational and cultural opportunities. While I worked part time during high school, I have fallen short in the area of the financial resources necessary to support my educational goals. Being awarded the Morgan Stem Scholarship would help me realize my educational goals.

My goal is to become a Nuclear Engineer. Over the next 25 years, the power needs of the American public will grow significantly. Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Coal and Natural Gas have power densities that are insufficient to meet those needs. Nuclear power, in contrast, is reliable, flexible, and presents very few emissions when compared with all other power sources. Nuclear safety, a key function of Nuclear Engineers, has improved significantly when engineering controls are properly designed and implemented. Legacy designs are at least a generation old, the average age of a nuclear power plant in the US is 42 years. It is projected U.S. energy consumption will continue to grow through 2050 as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency gains. While socially popular, solar and wind are significantly less power dense and present rising ownership costs. New technology, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), produce about one third the capacity of traditional reactors. They are small, typically much smaller than a normal nuclear reactor, and are modular and scalable. They can be assembled as a unit in a factory and shipped to the origin of need. Legacy reactor designs were typically custom designed for a particular location, were often difficult and time consuming to emplace, and were not easily modified to produce additional power as needs changed. An advantage of the new technology is they can be positioned in remote locations without the environmental costs and loss considerations of long transmission lines. New technology reactors are generally less complex and do not rely upon active engineering controls. The technologies significantly lower or eliminate traditional safety concerns. These designs operate with less frequent refueling requirements, with some operating for 30 years without the need to be refueled. Multiple SMR based power generation units can be designed to scale up when power needs change and could even be used as backups to other sources of power. The advent of SMR makes it possible to improve safety standards. International collaboration will make it possible to standardize to produce affordable, reliable, and sustainable power to meet the needs of the future. Nuclear engineers will be needed to design, install and monitor power networks to ensure safety. Alternatively, or once that goal is reached, nuclear powered space flight is next. Our current means of fuel for space exploration will not last as society continues to strive toward the stars. We will run into barriers from what can launch us, and keep us, in space. If we plan to travel for months and years, we will require another power source to keep humans alive and content for the journey. As how submarines are powered by nuclear energy, we can transfer this means into spacecraft. I want to explore the ability to create compact, stable reactors in spacecraft, which can kick-start an entire new generation of research geared toward space. While maintaining an environmentally safe alternative to how we live currently, I want to research prospects of how to further revolutionize modern life through nuclear power. My research within the environment and experiences with programming have helped me gain a greater understanding of my current abilities, and how to effectively revise them to allow me to enter into the modern age of nuclear-powered flight. I am entering the Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee to ultimately obtain a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering. Having a professional science and technology degree is an essential step towards that goal. I would like to be a part of this future. Many women, especially Hispanic/Latino women, are underrepresented in nuclear engineering. U.S. Women in Nuclear Global, founded in 1993, only has 35,000 members over 109 countries. SWE, Society of Women Engineers, boasts merely 40,000 members. According to the United States Bureau Labor of Statistics, approximately 2 million engineers resided in the United States and only 14% were women. Drilling down further, only 13% were “underrepresented racial and ethnic groups”, we can conclude an even smaller minority of female Latino engineers. Helping to lead other women to know they can achieve their ambitions is important to me.

My goal is to become a Nuclear Engineer. Over the next 25 years, the power needs of the American public will grow significantly. Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Coal and Natural Gas have power densities that are insufficient to meet those needs. Nuclear power, in contrast, is reliable, flexible, and presents very few emissions when compared with all other power sources. Nuclear safety, a key function of Nuclear Engineers, has improved significantly when engineering controls are properly designed and implemented. Legacy designs are at least a generation old, the average age of a nuclear power plant in the US is 42 years. It is projected U.S. energy consumption will continue to grow through 2050 as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency gains. While socially popular, solar and wind are significantly less power dense and present rising ownership costs. New technology, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), produce about one third the capacity of traditional reactors. They are small, typically much smaller than a normal nuclear reactor, and are modular and scalable. They can be assembled as a unit in a factory and shipped to the origin of need. Legacy reactor designs were typically custom designed for a particular location, were often difficult and time consuming to emplace, and were not easily modified to produce additional power as needs changed. An advantage of the new technology is they can be positioned in remote locations without the environmental costs and loss considerations of long transmission lines. New technology reactors are generally less complex and do not rely upon active engineering controls. The technologies significantly lower or eliminate traditional safety concerns. These designs operate with less frequent refueling requirements, with some operating for 30 years without the need to be refueled. Multiple SMR based power generation units can be designed to scale up when power needs change and could even be used as backups to other sources of power. The advent of SMR makes it possible to improve safety standards. International collaboration will make it possible to standardize to produce affordable, reliable, and sustainable power to meet the needs of the future. Nuclear engineers will be needed to design, install and monitor power networks to ensure safety. I would like to be a part of this future. Many women, especially Hispanic/Latino women, are underrepresented in nuclear engineering. U.S. Women in Nuclear Global, founded in 1993, only has 35,000 members over 109 countries. SWE, Society of Women Engineers, boasts merely 40,000 members. According to the United States Bureau Labor of Statistics, approximately 2 million engineers resided in the United States and only 14% were women. Drilling down further, only 13% were “underrepresented racial and ethnic groups”, we can conclude an even smaller minority of female Latino engineers. Helping to lead other women to know they can achieve their ambitions is important to me.

My goal is to become a Nuclear Engineer. Over the next 25 years the power needs of the American public will grow significantly. Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Coal and natural gas have power densities that are insufficient to meet those needs. Nuclear power, in contrast, is reliable, flexible, and presents very few emissions when compared with all other power sources. Nuclear safety, a key function of Nuclear Engineers, has improved significantly when engineering controls are properly designed and implemented. Legacy designs are at least a generation old, the average age of a nuclear power plant in the US is 42 years. It is projected U.S. energy consumption will continue to grow through 2050 as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency gains. While socially popular, solar and wind are significantly less power dense and present rising ownership costs. New technology, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), produce about one third the capacity of traditional reactors. They are small, typically much smaller than a normal nuclear reactor, and are modular and scalable. They can be assembled as a unit in a factory and shipped to the origin of need. Legacy reactor designs were typically custom designed for a particular location, were often difficult and time consuming to emplace, and were not easily modified to produce additional power as needs changed. An advantage of the new technology is they can be positioned in remote locations without the environmental costs and loss considerations of long transmission lines. New technology reactors are generally less complex and do not rely upon active engineering controls. The technologies significantly lower or eliminate traditional safety concerns. These designs operate with less frequent refueling requirements, with some operating for 30 years without the need to be refueled. Multiple SMR based power generation units can be designed to scale up when power needs change and could even be used as backups to other sources of power. The advent of SMR makes it possible to improve safety standards. International collaboration will make it possible to standardize to produce affordable, reliable, and sustainable power to meet the needs of the future. Nuclear engineers will be needed to design, install and monitor power networks to ensure safety. I would like to be a part of this future.

From an early age, my parents challenged me to excel academically. My family is of mixed Hispanic-Anglo background. My father was born in Mexico, came to the US and was able to join the Air Force. He became a member of a maintenance team on the B2 bomber program. My mother is Anglo and worked a variety of jobs in the service industry before obtaining a civil service job building ships for the Navy. As soon as I was able, I took part time employment and saved a portion of it for my future education. I have been able to maintain an excellent grade point average while attending a STEM focused high school. I am a National Honor Society member, a member of the National Spanish Honor Society, received a Women’s award for Aspirations in Computing and a member of a National Hispanic Recognition Program for academic achievement. I have been honored to become the President of the National Charity League and received an award for 130 hours of volunteer work. In school I have been the Secretary, Treasurer and President of the Spanish Club, a Captain on the community Lacrosse team and played Oboe in the County Orchestra. I have had a number of part time jobs including opening, operating and closing a small store as manager. I worked at a variety of part time jobs, including Walgreens, and Cracker Barrel with the goal of saving money for college. While I have been ambitious, I have fallen short of my financial goals and am seeking scholarships to address college expenses. My hard work has taught me the value of a dollar and inspired me to seek a professional career. I am very interested in Mathematics and Science and hope to earn a degree in applied physics and nuclear engineering.

It is often necessary for an engineer to understand rates of change and strain on assemblies. Two classic examples are the building of bridges and power distribution towers. While it is possible to create a product and test it until it breaks, the use of calculus facilitates exploring options with a mathematical model. There are two primary branches, Differential calculus, and integral calculus. Differential calculus allows the investigator to view points on a slope where change occurs. Integral calculus looks at the accumulation of change. The two are related and together are useful for predicting performance and, inversely, failure. Invented to study structural limits, it is now used widely in science, engineering, and social science. While the practice of calculus was invented in the late 1700’s, there is evidence the principles were understood as long ago as ancient Egypt. Modern day uses of calculus are dizzying in scope. Few of the modern tools we use in everyday life would exist without calculus. For example: -When we watch TV or use a cell phone, tablet or email, we are able to do it because someone used calculus in the development of those technologies. Modern engineering would not exist were it not for calculus. It now exists in prototyping software where the design can be examined using different materials, weights and structural features. -Calculus is used for scientific computing, computer games, image processing, machine learning, networked computing and many computer programs such as Computer assisted design and manufacture, popularly termed 3D printing. - Medicine uses calculus to design diagnostic tests, cancer treatment, epidemiology, surgery, cardiology, neurology, pharmacology, parasitology, and medical research. - Calculus is even used to predict trends in economics, finance, and the management of credit card accounts. - Meteorology uses calculus, to estimate weather, based upon the processing of measured data points to predict functions which help to create weather warnings and to determine the extent of natural disasters. - If you have enjoyed modern mixed music, calculus was used to optimize harmonics and acoustics. In the future, synthetic biology, additive manufacturing, nanotechnology and advanced biotechnology tools will all be engineered. Rapid population growth and industrial expansion will severely impact food, water and energy supplies. Some nations may soon struggle to support their populations. Over the next 40 years, there will be intense competition for natural resources. Access to these resources will have a profound impact upon regional politics with increasing potential for conflict. The development of methods to extract natural resources will benefit from the application of calculus. Countries that leverage advanced technologies like bioengineering will be able to profit but those that are unable to leverage technology will find themselves desperate and under resourced. The world now needs 50% more food than it did in the year 2000. As CO2 levels increase crop yields will decrease and crop failures will occur at elevated rates. Food security will be a major issue in the future. The efficient production of food will be essential. Development of improved techniques, regardless of how it is accomplished, is necessary. Calculus is fundamental to the development of new agricultural techniques as well as processing and distribution strategies. During the next decade, there will be no new developments in fossil fuel technologies. Advances in nano technology will improve solar power generation and small modular nuclear reactors will provide decentralized power production. These sources must be engineered to work in advanced sensor enabled power grids, all of which must be engineered by leveraging calculus.

My goal is to become a Nuclear Engineer. Over the next 25 years the power needs of the American public will grow significantly. Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Coal and natural gas have power densities that are insufficient to meet those needs. Nuclear power, in contrast, is reliable, flexible, and presents very few emissions when compared with all other power sources. Nuclear safety, a key function of Nuclear Engineers, has improved significantly when engineering controls are properly designed and implemented. Legacy designs are at least a generation old, the average age of a nuclear power plant in the US is 42 years. It is projected U.S. energy consumption will continue to grow through 2050 as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency gains. While socially popular, solar and wind are significantly less power dense and present rising ownership costs. New technology, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), produce about one third the capacity of traditional reactors. They are small, typically much smaller than a normal nuclear reactor, and are modular and scalable. They can be assembled as a unit in a factory and shipped to the origin of need. Legacy reactor designs were typically custom designed for a particular location, were often difficult and time consuming to emplace, and were not easily modified to produce additional power as needs changed. An advantage of the new technology is they can be positioned in remote locations without the environmental costs and loss considerations of long transmission lines. New technology reactors are generally less complex and do not rely upon active engineering controls. The technologies significantly lower or eliminate traditional safety concerns. These designs operate with less frequent refueling requirements, with some operating for 30 years without the need to be refueled. Multiple SMR based power generation units can be designed to scale up when power needs change and could even be used as backups to other sources of power. The advent of SMR makes it possible to improve safety standards. International collaboration will make it possible to standardize to produce affordable, reliable, and sustainable power to meet the needs of the future. Nuclear engineers will be needed to design, install and monitor power networks to ensure safety. I would like to be a part of this future. I have grown up in the era of having technology at my fingertips while my mother tells me of receiving her first computer....the blocky design and how she entered in "MS DOS". I am able to see those images through pictures and her eyes. However, all of the technology we have been brought up with has created so many consumer market issues--rising costs for energy and oil, cities in which people have to wear mask due to pollution. If we can build and provide cleaner, more economical energy through nuclear resources, who wouldn't want that? I have been very blessed in many aspects by my time at the Alabama School of Math and Science (ASMS). It has allowed me to explore opportunities and research projects I would not have otherwise had at the schools in my county. However, with ASMS being a public boarding school, it did not allow for outside community league sports or the opportunity for employment during the week. This has been frustrating in preparing for college. This scholarship would help allow me to pay for college and save my employment pay for my Master's and PhD tuition. I am neither low income nor high income and am a child of a single parent household. College will be difficult as cost of living rates increase.

My goal is to become a Nuclear Engineer. Over the next 25 years the power needs of the American public will grow significantly. Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Coal and natural gas have power densities that are insufficient to meet those needs. Nuclear power, in contrast, is reliable, flexible, and presents very few emissions when compared with all other power sources. Nuclear safety, a key function of Nuclear Engineers, has improved significantly when engineering controls are properly designed and implemented. Legacy designs are at least a generation old, the average age of a nuclear power plant in the US is 42 years. It is projected U.S. energy consumption will continue to grow through 2050 as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency gains. While socially popular, solar and wind are significantly less power dense and present rising ownership costs. New technology, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), produce about one third the capacity of traditional reactors. They are small, typically much smaller than a normal nuclear reactor, and are modular and scalable. They can be assembled as a unit in a factory and shipped to the origin of need. Legacy reactor designs were typically custom designed for a particular location, were often difficult and time consuming to emplace, and were not easily modified to produce additional power as needs changed. An advantage of the new technology is they can be positioned in remote locations without the environmental costs and loss considerations of long transmission lines. New technology reactors are generally less complex and do not rely upon active engineering controls. The technologies significantly lower or eliminate traditional safety concerns. These designs operate with less frequent refueling requirements, with some operating for 30 years without the need to be refueled. Multiple SMR based power generation units can be designed to scale up when power needs change and could even be used as backups to other sources of power. The advent of SMR makes it possible to improve safety standards. International collaboration will make it possible to standardize to produce affordable, reliable, and sustainable power to meet the needs of the future. Nuclear engineers will be needed to design, install and monitor power networks to ensure safety. I would like to be a part of this future. I have grown up in the era of having technology at my fingertips while my mother tells me of receiving her first computer....the blocky design and how she entered in "MS DOS". I am able to see those images through pictures and her eyes. However, all of the technology we have been brought up with has created so many consumer market issues--rising costs for energy and oil, cities in which people have to wear mask due to pollution. If we can build and provide cleaner, more economical energy through nuclear resources, who wouldn't want that?

Over the next 25 years the power needs of the American public will grow significantly. Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Coal and natural gas have power densities that are insufficient to meet those needs. Nuclear power, in contrast, is reliable, flexible, and presents very few emissions when compared. Nuclear safety, a key function of Nuclear Engineers, has improved significantly when engineering controls are properly designed and implemented. New technology, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), produce about one third the capacity of traditional reactors. They are small, modular and scalable. They can be assembled as a unit in a factory and shipped to the origin of need. Legacy reactor designs were typically custom designed for a particular location, often difficult and time consuming to emplace, and not easily modified to produce additional power as needs changed. New technology reactors are less complex and do not rely upon active engineering controls. These designs operate with less frequent refueling requirements, with some operating for 30 years without needing to be refueled. Multiple SMR units can be designed to scale up when power needs change and could be used as backups to other sources of power. The advent of SMR makes it possible to improve safety standards. International collaboration will make it possible to standardize to produce affordable, reliable, sustainable power to meet the needs of the future. Nuclear engineers will be needed to design, install and monitor power networks to ensure safety. I would like to be a part of this future.

My goal is to become a Nuclear Engineer. Over the next 25 years the power needs of the American public will grow significantly. Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Coal and natural gas have power densities that are insufficient to meet those needs. Nuclear power, in contrast, is reliable, flexible, and presents very few emissions when compared with all other power sources. Nuclear safety, a key function of Nuclear Engineers, has improved significantly when engineering controls are properly designed and implemented. Legacy designs are at least a generation old, the average age of a nuclear power plant in the US is 42 years. It is projected U.S. energy consumption will continue to grow through 2050 as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency gains. While socially popular, solar and wind are significantly less power dense and present rising ownership costs. New technology, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), produce about one third the capacity of traditional reactors. They are small, typically much smaller than a normal nuclear reactor, and are modular and scalable. They can be assembled as a unit in a factory and shipped to the origin of need. Legacy reactor designs were typically custom designed for a particular location, were often difficult and time consuming to emplace, and were not easily modified to produce additional power as needs changed. An advantage of the new technology is they can be positioned in remote locations without the environmental costs and loss considerations of long transmission lines. New technology reactors are generally less complex and do not rely upon active engineering controls. The technologies significantly lower or eliminate traditional safety concerns. These designs operate with less frequent refueling requirements, with some operating for 30 years without the need to be refueled. Multiple SMR based power generation units can be designed to scale up when power needs change and could even be used as backups to other sources of power. The advent of SMR makes it possible to improve safety standards. International collaboration will make it possible to standardize to produce affordable, reliable, and sustainable power to meet the needs of the future. Nuclear engineers will be needed to design, install and monitor power networks to ensure safety. I would like to be a part of this future. I have grown up in the era of having technology at my fingertips while my mother tells me of receiving her first computer....the blocky design and how she entered in "MS DOS". I am able to see those images through pictures and her eyes. However, all of the technology we have been brought up with has created so many consumer market issues--rising costs for energy and oil, cities in which people have to wear mask due to pollution. If we can build and provide cleaner, more economical energy through nuclear resources, who wouldn't want that?

My goal is to become a Nuclear Engineer. Over the next 25 years the power needs of the American public will grow significantly. Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Coal and natural gas have power densities that are insufficient to meet those needs. Nuclear power, in contrast, is reliable, flexible, and presents very few emissions when compared with all other power sources. Nuclear safety, a key function of Nuclear Engineers, has improved significantly when engineering controls are properly designed and implemented. Legacy designs are at least a generation old, the average age of a nuclear power plant in the US is 42 years. It is projected U.S. energy consumption will continue to grow through 2050 as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency gains. While socially popular, solar and wind are significantly less power dense and present rising ownership costs. New technology, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), produce about one third the capacity of traditional reactors. They are small, typically much smaller than a normal nuclear reactor, and are modular and scalable. They can be assembled as a unit in a factory and shipped to the origin of need. Legacy reactor designs were typically custom designed for a particular location, were often difficult and time consuming to emplace, and were not easily modified to produce additional power as needs changed. An advantage of the new technology is they can be positioned in remote locations without the environmental costs and loss considerations of long transmission lines. New technology reactors are generally less complex and do not rely upon active engineering controls. The technologies significantly lower or eliminate traditional safety concerns. These designs operate with less frequent refueling requirements, with some operating for 30 years without the need to be refueled. Multiple SMR based power generation units can be designed to scale up when power needs change and could even be used as backups to other sources of power. The advent of SMR makes it possible to improve safety standards. International collaboration will make it possible to standardize to produce affordable, reliable, and sustainable power to meet the needs of the future. Nuclear engineers will be needed to design, install and monitor power networks to ensure safety. I would like to be a part of this future. I have grown up in the era of having technology at my fingertips while my mother tells me of receiving her first computer....the blocky design and how she entered in "MS DOS". I am able to see those images through pictures and her eyes. However, all of the technology we have been brought up with has created so many consumer market issues--rising costs for energy and oil, cities in which people have to wear mask due to pollution. If we can build and provide cleaner, more economical energy through nuclear resources, who wouldn't want that?

The below proposes an order of priority for the stated goals of the Senate Mental Health Caucus. The caucus seeks to improve mental health response by creating a collaborative environment where awareness is increased, and stigma reduced while promoting bipartisan solutions to the problem of mental health. To address this challenge, I first surveyed terms and peer reviewed professional publications that addressed the stated goals. The literature suggests response is time sensitive and an essential first step to any solution. This prompted me to place improvement of prevention and early intervention in the number one position. The literature further suggests mental health issues are increasing in frequency and adequate resources to respond are insufficient to meet current and future needs. Enhancement of crisis response services should next be considered as well as “What the best response?” Again, I surveyed available case studies on evidence-based treatment. There is abundant body of professional literature addressing this topic. It suggests there is no model response. Rather, most cases are unique, and the solution effectiveness varies with the patient, the situation and the practitioner. In short, there is no “cookie cutter” response that fits all situations. On the other hand, there is enough empirical evidence to suggest the various classical treatments are measurable and therefore could be applied. The key is what technique is to be used. The approaches include: Cognitive Therapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Supportive Psychotherapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Psychoanalysis, Humanistic Therapy, Mindfulness Eye Movement Desensitization and Group Therapy. All of these techniques have their proponents and expert practitioners. The one common denominator is the human resources to exercise them do not exist in equal distribution across urban and rural areas. A bigger issue may be the abilities of the practitioner workforce. There are undoubtedly experienced and learned practitioners who consistently make the right decisions on effective treatment, but those individuals are not universally available. There is a need for technically solvent solutions across the whole of the mental health industry. This is an area where the use of artificial intelligence supporting clinical decision making should be studied. AI is becoming an effective tool supporting clinical treatment. To fully realize the potential of AI, there are several things that must occur. AI systems are driven by the quality of data. Missing data values, inconsistent values, duplicate data have to be addressed to ensure that uniform, high quality input occurs. AI typically uses machine learning which requires uniform data sampling. In turn, that will require the development of industry wide uniform data sets. The use of an algorithm training, or mock data, set is important and would have to be developed. The writing of code will require a panel of human subject matter experts. The screening criteria and selection profess for establishing that panel will have to be developed as well. Lastly, there will have to be agreement on how to test the software. This process would also have to be dynamic. This is an essential bit of “homework” that must be accomplished to develop an AI tool In my view, the next challenge is expanding the professional workforce so that effective support is available across the country from the densest urban area to the most sparsely populated rural community. After my survey of the topic, I propose the following order of priority: 1. Improve prevention and early intervention efforts, 2. Enhance our nation’s crisis response services, 3. Increase access to evidence-based mental health treatment and common-sense solutions. 4. Expand the country’s mental health professional workforce.