UNM Ph.D. student attends Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation

A Ph.D. student in the University of New Mexico Department of Nuclear Engineering was one of just 18 students to attend the Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation (NESD) in Washington, D.C., last month.

Ethan Krammer, who anticipates finishing his dissertation in 2026 under Dr. Christopher Perfetti, had the opportunity to write policy recommendations, meet with representatives from government agencies and congressional offices, and work with like-minded students from around the country. The Delegation gave him new insights into the policy world and nuclear career opportunities.

"The Delegation offered a great perspective because there's a lot of interactions between the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, lobbying agencies, Congress, and the White House. It's interesting to see all of those entities work together and what specific stakeholders have to say in regards to nuclear policy," Krammer said. "As a student, the Delegation opened the door to potential career paths in the future, because many of these organizations hire people with technical backgrounds."

Only about 20% of applicants who applied for the Delegation were selected to attend this year. Krammer is one of only two UNM students to attend NESD in the last decade, but he hopes more students from the University will apply in the future.

"It's a fantastic opportunity. Sometimes when we are doing research or coursework, we get a little bit in the weeds of math and science, but at the end of the day, we have to understand why we're doing this work," he said. "The reason for most of our work is to get nuclear power plants online and to keep current reactors open and almost all of that is a policy challenge."

The Delegation created policy recommendations in support of nuclear workforce development, investment in nuclear infrastructure, enhancement of supply chain and fuel management, and deployment of advanced reactors.

Delegates met with the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Clear Path, Zeno Power, and American Nuclear Society Congressional Fellows.

Krammer also met with the congressional offices of Senator Ben Ray Luján, Senator Martin Heinrich, Representative Melanie Stansbury, and Representative Teresa Leger Fernández. In preparation for the meetings, Krammer consulted with UNM Government Relations Director Nathan Bush on best practices.

He'll soon have another opportunity to meet with many of the country's nuclear engineering students as the Chair of the 2025 American Nuclear Society Student Conference, which will take place in Albuquerque this April. Krammer anticipates the conference will host more than 500 students and professionals from the nuclear field. The event will include technical sessions, panels and workshops, a career fair, and tours of several nearby national labs and nuclear industry partners.

Krammer thanked the UNM Department of Nuclear Engineering and the Graduate and Professional Student Association for supporting his trip to participate in NESD.

Top Image: Natalie Cannon, NESD Vice-Chair and NM constituent (right) and Ethan Krammer (left) meet with Senator Ben Ray Luján (center).