Florida International University’s Applied Research Center Hosts the 2011 DOE Fellows’ Induction Ceremony

On November 16, 2011, FIU’s Applied Research Center (ARC) conducted the fifth (5th) DOE Fellows Induction Ceremony. This year, Ms. Tracy Mustin (Acting Principal Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management) was one of the keynote speakers for the ceremony. Ms. Mustin welcomed the FIU students to the DOE Fellows program and encouraged them to continue to hone their communication skills as well as their technical skills. Ms. Mustin emphasized the needed ability to articulate their research aims, results and significance.

Other distinguished guests included Dr. Jeff Griffin (Associate Director for Environmental Management, Savannah River National Laboratory) and Dr. Ines Triay (Former Assistant Secretary for DOE Office of EM). FIU was represented by Dr. Andres Gil (Vice President for Research), Dr. John Proni (ARC Executive Director), and Dr. Leonel E. Lagos (DOE Fellows Program Director), as well as FIU faculty, staff, and students. Ms. Mustin and Dr. Griffin had the opportunity to participate in morning tours of the ARC research laboratories and listen to DOE Fellows presenting their research work. In addition, the distinguished guests and FIU faculty had the opportunity to interact with the DOE Fellows during a poster exhibition following the induction ceremony.

The Science & Technology Workforce Development Program (DOE Fellows Program) was established in 2007 under a partnership between FIU and DOE EM to create a “pipeline” of minority scientists and engineers specifically trained and mentored to enter the DOE’s workforce in technical areas of need. For more information on this unique program, please visithttps://arc.fiu.edu/intern.

During this year’s Induction Ceremony, 11 new FIU minority students were inducted as DOE Fellows.

• Claudia Cardona (Graduate, Environmental Engineering)
• Nel Ciurdar (Undergrad, Electrical Engineering)
• Eric Inclan (Graduate, Mechanical Engineering )
• Lilian Marrero (Graduate, Civil Engineering)
• Joshua Midence (Undergraduate, Civil Engineering )
• Carol Moreno-Pastor (Undergrad, Biomedical Engineering)
• Jaime Mudrich (Graduate, Mechanical Engineering )
• Ximena Prugue (Undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering )
• Paola Sepulveda (Undergraduate, Biomedical Engineering)
• Frank Silva (Undergraduate, Electrical Engineering)
• Bryant Thompson (Undergraduate, Biomedical Engineering )

In addition, awards were presented to the DOE Fellows that won the DOE Fellows Poster Exhibition and Competition held on October 25, 2011. First place went to Mr. Rinaldo Gonzalez for his poster titled, “Soil Mesh Optimization and Preliminary FEA Study of Tank-to-Tank Interaction for Hanford Type IV SST.” Second place went to Mr. Jose Matos for his poster on “Agitated Thin Film Evaporator.” Third place went to Ms. Alessandra Monetti for her poster titled “Heat of Hydration Experimental Mock Up Using Cellular Concrete/Grout.”

For the third year, the DOE Fellow of the Year Award and the Mentor of the Year Award were presented in the ceremony. DOE Fellows were requested to nominate their ARC mentors and ARC mentors were requested to nominate the DOE Fellows. An ARC committee was established to review and select the winners from the submitted nominations. The 2011Mentor of the Year Award went to Ms. Peggy Shoffner and the 2011 DOE Fellow of the Year Award was given to Ms. Heidi Henderson (DOE Fellows Class of 2010).

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