Mississippi State University (MSU) President Mark E. Keenum bestowed the most unique symbol of the school’s tradition upon members of EM leadership: the cowbell, meant as a token of appreciation for the university’s partnerships with DOE.
Office of Environmental Management
November 16, 2021
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Mississippi State University (MSU) President Mark E. Keenum bestowed the most unique symbol of the school’s tradition upon members of EM leadership: the cowbell, meant as a token of appreciation for the university’s partnerships with DOE.
Keenum presented cowbells to EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Nicole Nelson-Jean and EM Chief Engineer Robert Crosby during their visit to Mississippi State in October.
But there was one more cowbell. Keenum had given it to Nelson-Jean to provide to EM Acting Assistant Secretary William “Ike” White, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Mississippi (UM), MSU’s biggest sports rival. The cowbell is now on display in the lobby of the front office of EM’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
During the visit to MSU, Nelson-Jean presented a former MSU research center director with a career award honoring his work to evaluate and improve high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters used to contain nuclear materials. Charles Waggoner, director emeritus of MSU’s Institute for Clean Energy Technology (ICET), received the DOE Distinguished Career Service Award. He led the institute’s testing programs for 23 years before retiring.
ICET supports the EM program in applied research and development in the area of air filtration and treatment. The institute’s engineering and testing staff is experienced in adapting instrumentation and equipment as needed to solve EM’s complex air filtration issues. ICET personnel have wide experience and recognition for their work in air filtration research and development.
The institute provides EM research in evaluation of HEPA filters and other technologies to enhance nuclear safety in the waste complex. These efforts have supported DOE confinement ventilation systems, but they have also served a public purpose in advancing confinement ventilation technology, which has applications in the energy, medical, and pharmaceutical fields.
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