Getting Involved in MSTD as a Student
MSTD welcomes student involvement! Attend MSTD sponsored technical sessions and sit in on executive committee meetings during the winter and annual ANS meetings. Look in the respective meeting programs or contact us for information of when and where the executive committee meetings are.
A few advantages for students to get involved with MSTD:
- Professional development
- Network with current professionals from industry, national laboratories, and universities
- Volunteer your time in leadership roles
MSTD Virtual Seminar Series
The seminar series has been providing graduate students an opportunity to present their latest and greatest research in a professional online setting to their peers. Topics of interest for the MSTD Virtual Seminar Series includes, and is not limited to, fission reactor fuel performance and modeling, power plant aging and life extension, fusion reactor systems, isotope production, gamma irradiation, interim spent fuel storage, actinide disposition, and shielding. The MSTD Virtual Seminar Series will be held the same time as during the spring, specifically, on the last Tuesday of the month from 2-3 pm EST, where talks will be schedule for 30 minutes + 15 minutes Q&A. Seminars will be held in the months of January-May and August-October (8 total).
Student Support from MSTD
Because today’s students represent the future of the nuclear industry, the Materials Science and Technology Division actively supports a wide range of student programs at the undergraduate and graduate level. Below is a partial list of the activities currently or recently supported. For more information on these activities or to suggest others, please contact the MSTD Webmaster Timothy Phero.
- James F. Schumar Scholarship: Named in honor of the first Chair of the MSTD, the James F.Schumar Scholarship is drawn from an endowment administered by the Scholarship Committee of ANS. It typically is awarded annually to graduate students pursuing research in the field of nuclear materials science and technology. More information and application materials may be obtained by following the link above to the ANS scholarship web site.
- Student Literary Award: This award is presented to recognize the student that has presented the best full-length materials-oriented paper contributing to the development of nuclear energy at the Annual or Winter ANS Meeting, and subsequently submitted a full paper for publication in Nuclear Technology or other peer-reviewed journal.
- Student Conference Support: The MSTD routinely has provided financial support to the regional ANS Student Conferences and repeatedly so since at least 2001. Support usually takes the form of $400 for general support and a $100 award for best Materials Science related presentation. Judges are routinely recruited from MSTD for these conferences.
- Student Travel Support: The MSTD frequently has provided financial support to subsidize costs for student travel to the ANS National Meetings. Typically, requests for support of this nature are made through the ANS Student Sections Committee. See thank you letters from recent students supported collectively by ANS divisions.