Nuclear engineering student receives Department of Energy award

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Quinnan Hetrick

This April, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $6 million in scholarships and fellowships to students pursuing nuclear energy-related degrees across the US. DOE is awarding 124 scholarships and fellowships to students at 39 colleges and universities.

Quinnan Hetrick, a third year in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering’s Nuclear Engineering minor program, is a recipient of the DOE’s University Nuclear Leadership Program’s $10,000 scholarship awarded to undergraduate students for the 2023-2024 academic year.

She plans to use this scholarship to help with her tuition costs and earning this scholarship affirms to her that she is on the right path.

“It makes me feel more confident in pursuing nuclear engineering after I finish my Bachelor’s,” Hetrick said.

She is currently working in Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL) here at Ohio State with advisor Dr. Raymond Cao, who is additionally the nuclear engineering program director. Dr. Cao had encouraged Hetrick to apply for this scholarship.  

Hetrick, having initial background in computer science and engineering, felt she was lacking from a chemistry and physics background compared to her peers in her nuclear engineering courses. However, with a strong interest and pull to learn more about nuclear power she decided to pursue a nuclear engineering minor.

After taking courses, Hetrick feels confident that nuclear engineering is a field she wants to pursue.

“Now that I’m almost finished with my minor, I found that I’m still interested in the field and want to continue learning about it,” Hetrick said, “Nuclear engineering is a field that covers many disciplines and I think I’ll fit somewhere within it.”