W M S Y M P O S I A 2 0 1 7 • P H O E N I X C O N V E N T I O N C E N T E R • M A R C H 5 - 9 • W W W . W M S Y M . O R G 5 2017 Roy G. Post Student Scholarship Recipients Ekaterina Ryabikovskaya National Research Nuclear University MEPhI & Texas A&M University Ekaterina Ryabikovskaya is a 2nd year PhD student majoring in Physics of Condensed Matter at National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. She also has a Diploma in Nuclear Engineering and Master’s Degree in Nuclear Physics and Technology from MEPhI. Her field of scientific interest comprises high- temperature-reactor fuel. In 2016 she was awarded with Russian President Scholarship for her PhD research activity. Ekaterina is collaborating as Research Scholar at Texas A&M University, Department of Nuclear Engineering in 2016-2017 academic year. Taichi Sakai — JAPAN University of Tokyo Taichi Sakai was born in Kanagawa, Japan. When he was in high school, the huge earthquake occurred in March 2011 and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident followed, which had tremendous impact on him. Enrolling in the University of Tokyo in 2012, a lecture about radioactive waste disposal steered him towards the field of Fukushima decommissioning which includes radioactive waste problem. In his bachelor research, under the tuition of Professor Koji Okamoto and Project Professor Shunichi Suzuki, Mr. Sakai conducted the inventory estimation of Cesium absorption vessels from Fukushima power plant. After entering the department of nuclear engineering and management in school of engineering of the University of Tokyo, Mr. Sakai changed the focus to MCCI material of Fukushima and now carry out evaluation the MCCI material as radioactive waste. He hopes his study will contribute to the disposal site selection of radioactive waste from Fukushima decommissioning. Rebecca Sanderson — UNITED KINGDOM University of Sheffield Rebecca Sanderson is in the fourth year of a nuclear engineering doctoral programme (EngD), researching the encapsulation/immobilisation of intermediate level radioactive waste in cementitious matrices; specifically the effect of cement particle size on matrix performance properties. Sellafield Ltd sponsor Rebecca’s research, which she undertakes in collaboration with the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and The University of Sheffield. Having completed small scale lab trials in Sheffield Rebecca is now performing full-scale experimental trials at NNL to gain essential insights into the suitability of implementation at industrial scale. Alongside her research, Rebecca has completed a post-graduate business diploma in enterprise management. Prior to her EngD programme, Rebecca graduated from The University of Nottingham in 2013 with a Masters Degree in Chemistry. She then worked at NNL for a year developing methods for sealing Highly Active Liquor storage tanks. Rebecca volunteers at STEM and outreach events and is a keen netball player. Mara Watson Clemson University Mara Watson is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at Clemson University. Her primary research interests are in radiation detection and measurement. She has an M.S. in Environmental Health Physics from Clemson University and a B.S.E., cum laude, in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science from the University of Michigan. Ms. Watson’s dissertation work involves developing a state-of-the-art detection system for rapid activity determination and isotopic quantification of waterborne special nuclear material (SNM) using coincidence alpha and conversion electron spectroscopy. She is also the recipient of the 2015-2016 Robert S. Landauer, Sr., Memorial Fellowship and the 2015 Roscoe Hall Memorial Scholarship. Graduate Level - $5,000