• UNM
  • >Home
  • >News
  • >2020
  • >August
  • >Nuclear engineering student group selected as top in nation for second year in a row

Nuclear engineering student group selected as top in nation for second year in a row

August 3, 2020 - by Kim Delker

Matthew Gervasi, Alexandria Ragsdale, and Ira Strong (with Sancho the dog) attend the ANS Welcome Back Days booth in 2019 at the UNM Duck Pond.
Matthew Gervasi, Alexandria Ragsdale, and Ira Strong (with Sancho the dog) attend the ANS Welcome Back Days booth in 2019 at the UNM Duck Pond.

For the second consecutive year, The University of New Mexico’s student section of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) has been selected to receive the Samuel Glasstone Award.

The award is given annually by the National Chapter of the American Nuclear Society to the most outstanding ANS student section for “accomplishing the most notable achievements in public service and the advancements of nuclear engineering.”

The award includes a $600 prize.

The ANS student chapter conducts a variety of activities throughout the year, including hosting professional development, social and outreach events, and showcasing their technical excellence at professional conferences. Examples of ANS student events include coding boot camps, technical seminars, and helping Girl Scouts earn their “Get to Know Nuclear” Badge.

Christopher Perfetti, an assistant professor nuclear engineering, has been the faculty advisor for the group the last two years. He said the competition for the Glasstone Award has grown increasingly intense and involves a detailed application (UNM’s was 47 pages long this year).

“UNM is one of only five ANS student sections to ever win the award back-to-back,” Perfetti said. “This is a major accomplishment. Our students have put a lot of effort into ANS.”

In addition to Perfetti, the 2019-2020 UNM-ANS Executive Committee members are:
Alexandria Ragsdale, President
Mekiel Olguin, Vice President
Christian Arguello, Secretary and Treasurer
Ira Strong, Member-At-Large Fall Semester
Lauren Crabtree, Member-At-Large and Immediate Past President
Matthew Gervasi, Internal Communications Officer
Rowdy Davis, External Communications Officer Yuqi Liu, Graduate Student Representative
Bobbi Merryman, Nuclear Policy Officer
Phoenix Baldez, Institute of Nuclear Materials Management Liason
Carl Willis, Outreach Coordinator