PHOENIX – Twenty Florida International University (FIU) students who serve as DOE Fellows in the EM program presented technical posters at the annual Waste Management Conference in Phoenix earlier this month. Here, the fellows gather with, front row, left to right, FIU Applied Research Center (ARC) Research Director Dr. Leonel Lagos, who serves as FIU’s DOE Fellows program director; ARC Executive Director Dr. Inés Triay; and EM Assistant Secretary Dr. Monica Regalbuto. The fellows are, front row, Meilyn Planas, second from right, and Gene Yllanes, far right; second row, left to right, Awmna Rana, Hansel Gonzalez, and Alejandro Fernandez; third row, Silvina Di Pietro, Maximiliano Edrei, Sebastian Zanlongo, Robert Larriere, and John Conley; fourth row, Christine Wipfli and Ryan Sheffield; and back row, Yoel Rotterman, Jorge Deshon, Erim Gokce, Anthony Fernandez, Jesse Viera, Natalia Duque, Christopher Strand, and Janesler Gonzalez. The fellows presented posters on high-level waste, subsurface and groundwater remediation, deactivation and decommissioning, and applications in knowledge management. They also presented in two professional sessions and participated in a conference panel. The 2016 Roy G. Post Foundation Scholarship at the Graduate Student Level was awarded to Di Pietro.

   In related news, Hannah Paterson, who is serving a five-month assignment in EM as a member of the UK nuclear graduate program, also received a 2016 Roy G. Post Foundation Scholarship. It allowed Paterson to attend the conference, where she won the student poster competition for her technical presentation on waste vitrification at the UK's Sellafield, Ltd. Paterson is working in EM's International Programs and the Office of Tank Waste and Nuclear Material. Read more about her experience at the conference here.