A researcher named Inventor of the Year at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) led a three-day event for EM’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (MSIPP) that included a collaborative workshop, job shadowing and a tour of the lab.
Office of Environmental Management
July 18, 2023
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Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) employee Vernon Bush, center, and SRNL summer intern Jadrion Huell, standing at right, of Claflin University conduct a job shadowing activity with students Tredarius Lassiter, seated at left, and Tommy Applewhite. The group is monitoring a system in SRNL's Engineering Development Lab for a prototype melter system used to treat surrogate radioactive waste.
AIKEN, S.C. – A researcher named Inventor of the Year at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) led a three-day event for EM’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (MSIPP) that included a collaborative workshop, job shadowing and a tour of the laboratory and Savannah River Site field activities.
The event led by Simona Hunyadi Murph drew nearly 90 participants, including students and professors from Tennessee, SRNL DOE Office of Science Visiting Faculty Program participants, and scientists and engineers from SRNL. Representatives from Fisk University, Tennessee State University, Meharry Medical College, University of South Carolina-Aiken, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, Benedict College and University of Tennessee-Martin took part.
“Our innovative strategies to engage both students and faculty members from prestigious universities across the country in developing our future workforce for the execution of DOE-EM mission needs is a unique model for success that I and my colleagues are truly proud to be committed to,” said Murph. “As our program continues to thrive, we will expand our career-bridging initiatives to ensure we achieve our goals for success.”
Spencer Gordon, a student from Tennessee State University, explores Savannah River National Laboratory’s flying probe machine in the process of reverse engineering while participating in the job shadowing and collaborative workshop event at the laboratory.
The collaborative workshop between scientists and professors was intended to inspire and initiate efforts to support EM missions and career exploration activities. Individualized job-shadowing opportunities matched students with SRNL mentors for a day, with the goal of increasing awareness of career opportunities throughout DOE.
Tennessee State University Professor Bharat Pokharel said the visit was memorable and very productive.
“We learned a lot and my students enjoyed visiting sites, shadowing with the scientists from SRNL and learning what SRNL offers for them. I personally had a great time and saw numerous opportunities to engage and collaborate with SRNL,” Pokharel said.
SRNL manages the EM-sponsored MSIPP, which promotes the education and development of the next generation workforce in critical science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) related disciplines that compliment current and future EM missions.
“Engagement with minority serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities provides an opportunity to inform students about the real challenges of the EM mission and position a future workforce pipeline,” said SRNL EM MSIPP Program Manager Vivian Holloway. “Events like the SRNL and Tennessee job shadowing are critical to the success of this effort.”
Click here to learn more about the EM MSIPP.
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