Three Student Researchers Earn National Recognition for Nuclear Engineering

Three University of Utah students from Dr. Michael Simpson’s research group have been named winners in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2025 Innovation in Nuclear Student Competition—placing Utah among just three universities nationwide with more than one student recognized.

The national competition honors student-authored research papers in cutting-edge nuclear energy science. The three U winners—two Ph.D. students and one undergraduate—represent departments across the College of Engineering and are affiliated with the Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP).

Mario Gonzalez (Ph.D. candidate, Metallurgical Engineering) earned an Award of Excellence for his paper demonstrating a cost-effective way to recycle used nuclear fuel using a novel iron anode in molten salt electrochemical processing. He currently serves as Deputy Director of the Nuclear Pyrometallurgy Laboratory and is preparing to defend his dissertation this summer.

Forest “Indy” Felling (Ph.D. candidate, Materials Science & Engineering) received Special Recognition for his work developing electrochemical techniques to measure calcium oxide concentration in molten salt—a key step in enabling economical used fuel recycling. Forest is completing his Ph.D. while working at TerraPower on the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor.

Jon Dromey (B.S., Mechanical Engineering, ’25) won the Undergraduate Award for a paper developed in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory. His modeling research explores zone refining to separate actinides from fission products in metallic nuclear fuel—a promising method for reducing fuel recycling costs in fast reactors. Jon now works at TerraPower on the Natrium reactor project.

“Each of these projects tackles one of the most critical challenges in nuclear energy—how to close the fuel cycle affordably and at scale,” said Dr. Simpson, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and UNEP-affiliated faculty. “Their work is not only academically rigorous, but it’s immediately relevant to the next generation of nuclear technology.”

The students’ work stems from research in Dr. Simpson’s Nuclear Pyrometallurgy Lab, a UNEP cornerstone dedicated to molten salt chemistry, advanced reactor systems, and fuel cycle innovation. The lab shares facilities with UNEP faculty, including program director Dr. Supathorn Phongikaroon and Dr. Tara Mastren.

These students’ achievements reflect the hands-on, collaborative environment at the University of Utah—where students can gain real research experience across disciplines that prepares them to lead in the evolving landscape of nuclear science and engineering.

Nuclear Engineering at the University of Utah

With a commitment to innovation and excellence, the Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP) aims to push the boundaries of multidisciplinary nuclear-related fields. UNEP’s overarching goal is to continually make strides in the advancement of multidisciplinary nuclear-related fields such as actinide synthesis, electronics nesting, energy, and more.

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