Samuel Joseph Cope, first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University, has received the Consortium for Nonproliferation Enabling Capabilities (CNEC) fellowship, which is competitively awarded to students conducting research relevant to the field of nonproliferation. Cope is one of six outstanding students in the department who received a national fellowship to continue with graduate research.
Advised by Dr. Robert Hayes, Cope will be investigating and advancing air monitoring technologies for radiological emergency response as well as looking into liquid scintillation spectroscopy, gamma spectroscopy using high-purity Germanium detectors, and statistical models for characterizing radon and thoron progeny within the goal of rapid air analysis techniques.
Cope hopes that his research will strengthen the collaboration between national lab partners as well as contribute to the mission of CNEC meeting the challenges of nuclear nonproliferation by creating a research and education hub dedicated to the creation of enabling technologies and technical talent.
CNEC was created after NC State was awarded a five-year, $25 million Department of Energy grant in 2014 in partnership with six other universities and three national laboratories. The center’s mission is to advance research on nuclear nonproliferation and train scientists and engineers in the field.
Through the College of Engineering, Cope was able to serve as an Engineering Ambassador recruiting high school students and leading science, technology, engineering and math activities at elementary schools. He said that the mentoring and teamwork he experienced made him want to continue to foster the relationships between colleagues and classmates at NC State.
Being a third generation member of the Wolfpack, Cope said that continuing his studies at NC State, “truly feels like home.” Growing up in High Point, NC, he was first introduced to the staff and research in the Department of Nuclear Engineering by his high school chemistry teacher, who suggested that he apply for the Young Investigators’ Summer Program in Nuclear Technology organized by Lisa Marshall, director of outreach, retention and engagement in the Department of Nuclear Engineering.
During his undergraduate career, Cope decided to apply to the accelerated master’s program; he applied for the CNEC fellowship and for a Ph.D. during his senior year. His senior design project, “Design of a Nuclear Thermal Rocket to Support a Manned Mission to Mars” was a team effort including two students, Nina Colby Sorrell and Cole Manring, who also received national fellowships.
One of Cope’s favorite quotes is from Sir Isaac Newton, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” He said the quote represents the support he has received from mentors, advisors and professors who have guided him during his studies and research.