Materials engineering senior tapped for prestigious Department of Energy fellowship

John Snitzer, a senior in materials engineering, was recently awarded a prestigious graduate fellowship, the University Nuclear Leadership Program (UNLP), administered by the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy.

Only 28 students across the nation receive this fellowship.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with some of the experts in the field of Nuclear Science and Engineering,” Snitzer said. “I am beyond excited to work in partnership with them to further the field.”

The office’s primary mission, Snitzer said, is to advance nuclear power as a resource capable of meeting the nation’s energy, environmental and national security needs by resolving technical, cost, safety, proliferation resistance and security barriers through research, development and demonstration as appropriate.

Snitzer has primarily worked under associate professor of mechanical engineering Xiaoyuan Lou.

“I extend my sincere congratulations to John to receive this prestigious DOE fellowship award,” Lou said. “This award demonstrates that Auburn Engineering offers excellent education and training opportunities to our students so that they can compete at a national level.”

UNLP works to attract qualified nuclear science and engineering students to nuclear energy professions by providing graduate-level fellowships awarded for graduate-level work leading to a master's or doctoral degree in the fields or disciplines relevant to the Nuclear Energy and Department of Energy mission. 

“This fellowship provides him an opportunity to work with the best scientists in our national laboratory system,” Lou said. “I am proud of John's achievement knowing he is on the right track to becoming a future leader to solve our future energy challenges.”