Georgia Tech Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Medical Physics

Two members of the Woodruff School have been selected for Georgia Tech’s inaugural Research Leadership Academy: Woodruff Professor Marta Hatzell and Senior Research Engineer Yuguo Tao. Chosen from a highly competitive pool of applicants across campus, they join a distinguished cohort recognized for their research excellence, leadership, and ability to drive interdisciplinary collaboration. Through the yearlong program, Hatzell and Tao will take part in mentorship, experiential learning, and cross-campus dialogue aimed at cultivating the next generation of strategic research leaders. Their selection highlights the Woodruff School’s strong role in advancing Georgia Tech’s research enterprise and shaping its future. #GeorgiaTech #GeorgiaTechResearch #Faculty #Leadership #MechanicalEngineering #NuclearEngineering #WoodruffSchool #TheWoodruffWay #Collaboration #ResearchExcellence

Iran’s nuclear program just got harder to see—and that’s a problem. After airstrikes on its nuclear facilities, Iran escalated: kicking out IAEA inspectors, ripping out cameras, and breaking seals at key sites. The result? A monitoring blackout and a rupture in “continuity of knowledge.” Professor Anna S Erickson explains how nuclear inspections work—and why losing visibility is a technical and strategic setback. Read her piece in The Conversation: https://bit.ly/4lrWEm0 #GeorgiaTech #NuclearEngineering #Nuclear #TheConversation #WoodruffSchool #TheWoodruffWay

“Nuclear” is a loaded word — and a powerful one. One tiny fuel pellet holds as much energy as a metric ton of coal. But the technology is often misunderstood, tangled in decades of myths and misinformation. At Georgia Tech, Steve Biegalski, chair of the NREMP program, and Professor Anna S Erickson, director of the Consortium for Enabling Technologies and Innovation, are working to untangle fact from fiction. Their mission? To help nuclear power shine — safely, responsibly, and with clarity. ⚛️ Learn why nuclear’s moment is now: https://bit.ly/3H7CYpD #GeorgiaTech #GeorgiaTechResearch #Research #Nuclear #NuclearEngineering #NuclearPower #WoodruffSchool #TheWoodruffWay #WeCanDoThat #FacultyExperts

Professor Emeritus Nolan Hertel has received the Robley D. Evans Commemorative Medal from the Health Physics Society — one of the highest recognitions in the field. Named for a trailblazing physicist and humanitarian, the medal has only been awarded 13 times since 1997. Hertel now joins that elite group, celebrated for scientific excellence, interdisciplinary insight, and a lifelong commitment to real-world radiation safety. He is the fourth recipient with Georgia Tech ties, joining Geoffrey Eichholz, Dade Moeller, and John Poston. Congratulations, Professor Hertel! 🎉 #GeorgiaTech #WoodruffSchool #TheWoodruffWay #FacultyAwards #FacultyHonors #RadiationSafety #HealthPhysics #WeCanDoThat

🚨 Now Accepting Applications! The Woodruff Young Alumni Council is looking for passionate ME and NRE alumni to join its growing network. If you earned your degree within the past 15 years, this is your chance to mentor, lead, and give back. Apply now: https://bit.ly/4kPOsfl Questions? Feel free to contact Courtney D. Sykes, M.Ed., Woodruff School Alumni Program Manager, at courtney.sykes@gatech.edu.

The latest U.S. strikes in Iran hit the infrastructure that supports advanced uranium enrichment: centrifuge components, vacuum systems, and critical power supplies. Even striking peripheral infrastructure, like vacuum pumps or cold traps, can cripple enrichment throughput without necessarily destroying centrifuges. Professor Anna S Erickson recently explained how centrifuge technology shapes nuclear weapons capability and intentions, how designs have evolved from the IR-1 to the IR-9, and why disrupting enrichment infrastructure can matter without dismantling an entire nuclear program. Her article, “Why the US bombed a bunch of metal tubes − a nuclear engineer explains the importance of centrifuges to Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons," was published in The Conversation earlier this month. https://lnkd.in/egcKpwiu

Woodruff School alumnus John Williams, senior vice president of technical services and external affairs at Southern Nuclear, recently hosted President Ángel Cabrera and members of the Georgia Tech community at Plant Vogtle as part of the 2025 President’s Summer Tour. The group toured the largest generator of clean energy in the United States and saw the groundbreaking AP1000 technology in action. ⚛️🐝 In his role, Williams oversees fleet support functions essential to the safe and reliable operation of Southern Nuclear’s operating fleet and provides strategic leadership and direction for all external Southern Company nuclear efforts. He earned a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Georgia Tech in 2002. #GTAlumni #NuclearEngineering #PlantVogtle #CleanEnergy #GeorgiaTech #Engineering #TheWoodruffWay #WoodruffSchool #WeCanDoThat #SouthernNuclear #GeorgiaTechAlumni

Fan Zhang, assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has received the 2025 Landis Young Member Engineering Achievement Award from ANS! 👏 She’s being recognized for her innovative work in nuclear cybersecurity using machine learning, her collaboration with the IAEA, and her groundbreaking research on robot-assisted monitoring to improve nuclear power plant safety and efficiency. Her efforts are helping position Georgia Tech as a global leader in nuclear security. Full story: https://bit.ly/45Q2ZUs #GeorgiaTech #Research #NuclearEngineering #Cybersecurity #ANS #WoodruffSchool #TheWoodruffWay #GeorgiaTechME #GeorgiaTechResearch #NuclearSecurity #Faculty #FacultyAward

A new initiative harnessing the Woodruff School's spirit of collaboration and innovative research.