果冻传媒麻豆社

Robin Roper didn鈥檛 have to look far and long to find her love for chemical engineering.

Her father, Keith Anderson, was a physicist.

鈥淢y parents raised me to be science-focused person,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e would always do fun home science experiments together, and I worked with my dad to see what he did.

鈥淭he way my family talked and learned about science made me feel that pursuing science would be a good way to make an impact.鈥�

Roper earned her associate degree in general science before she graduated from high school at the Utah County Academy of Sciences in Orem, Utah.

“I always knew I was going into a field that doesn鈥檛 have a lot of women, I鈥檝e always seen that as a challenge and opportunity to make a difference, rather than a deterrent. I鈥檓 always excited at opportunities to show that my skills and experience matter more than my gender.” Robin Roper, M.S. Nuclear Engineering student

鈥淚 always wanted to work in chemistry, and engineering sounded like a more fun way of going about it,鈥� Roper said. 鈥淚 started college when I was 17, so I didn鈥檛 want to commit myself to something that wouldn鈥檛 be adaptable to my changing career goals as I got older.鈥�

Roper is finishing her master鈥檚 degree in nuclear engineering in Idaho Falls at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), a research and education consortium between the 果冻传媒麻豆社, Boise State University, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho State University and University of Wyoming.

While pursuing her bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University-Provo, Roper said she wasn鈥檛 sure how she鈥檇 apply it until she joined a research team that focused on molten salts for nuclear applications.

鈥淚 loved it and decided to pursue that as my field,鈥� she said.

Making a difference

Nuclear engineering is traditionally a male-dominated field, but Roper said she didn鈥檛 think twice about the career choice.

鈥淚 always knew I was going into a field that doesn鈥檛 have a lot of women,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always seen that as a challenge and opportunity to make a difference, rather than a deterrent. I鈥檓 always excited at opportunities to show that my skills and experience matter more than my gender.鈥�

Roper mentored other students and helped them navigate a challenging career path this past year as president of the nonprofit American Nuclear Society鈥檚 Student Section, a student club at U of I.

鈥淚鈥檝e presented my research at conferences and helped the other students present as well,鈥� she said.

Roper said she鈥檚 especially proud of organizing a mental health seminar for fellow graduate students during her service to society. The group hadn鈥檛 held such an event before.

鈥淚鈥檝e had my own struggles with anxiety,鈥� she said 鈥淕rad school can be stressful. There鈥檚 a stigma that, to become a better person, you have to handle stress. We want grad students to understand that it鈥檚 OK to seek resources. I believe it is an important topic to have open discussion about.鈥�

The club volunteers at science education events, including INL鈥檚 Family Nuclear Science Night in which families and their children learn about science.

鈥淜ids made cups of slime that we colored a bright blue to resemble Cherenkov radiation,鈥� Roper said.

The club is always available when U of I needs students to assist at community events, said Alice Allen, the university鈥檚 academic program coordinator.

Roper鈥檚 leadership has helped vault U of I to be a major player in the national ranks of ANS that features larger universities, said Richard Christensen, U of I鈥檚 nuclear engineering director.

鈥淯 of I had a significant leadership presence at the last national ANS meeting because of her ability to organize and encourage her fellow students,鈥� he said.

Molten salt research

Roper鈥檚 research for her thesis focuses on the nuclear applications of molten salts, specifically how to mitigate the corrosive nature of salt. Molten salt reactors (MSRs) are a promising technology to reduce the nuclear waste stream.

鈥淚 am trying to learn more about the basic chemical behavior of salts because that is important to building molten salt systems,鈥� she said.

MSRs use liquid molten salt as the fuel instead of typical solid fuel as can be found in most commercial reactors. Fuel for the reactors is dissolved into molten salt.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an exciting concept for all power-generating industries since it鈥檚 a safe, advanced reactor that can generate power,鈥� Roper said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also great for the medical industry because MSRs can also be used to produce medical isotopes.鈥�

There is not much data on nuclear-suitable materials for the long lifetimes needed for such a reactor, Roper said.

Roper鈥檚 research is supported by a Nuclear Regulatory Commission fellowship through U of I that covers two years toward her master鈥檚 degree.

Roper and a classmate have spent more than a year designing a hydrofluorification purification system.

The system, which would make pure salt samples, was slated to be built at CAES this year until the coronavirus pandemic closed buildings on campuses across the country.

鈥淲e aren鈥檛 going to build the system at this time; we鈥檙e just going to do melting point testing now,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y goal is to find the melting point of salt and the effect of different compositions on the melting point.鈥�

The system and Roper鈥檚 data will be key for molten salt reactor development, Christensen said.

鈥淪he is leading the way for a new area of research at U of I, and we are proud of her for that,鈥� he said.

Roper will continue her research as she begins a doctoratal program at U of I Idaho Falls this fall.

Roper is the team leader in Christensen鈥檚 Capstone Design class. The class emphasizes the design process and the creation of an engineered, tested and validated outcome or prototype.

鈥淪he keeps the students working and on task,鈥� Christensen said. 鈥淭his is one class that has not missed a deadline or deliverable. Without her guiding hand, that would not be the case.鈥�

Roper said the close proximity to INL, part of the U.S. Department of Energy's complex of national laboratories in Idaho Falls, drew her to U of I.

鈥淯 of I has a lot of connections to INL, which is where I鈥檓 shooting for a research career,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey have an amazing scope of research at the facility.鈥�

Christensen is confident that Roper will succeed in the emerging nuclear field.

鈥淪he has developed a relationship with INL that will help her,鈥� he said.

Article by Brian Walker, University Communications and Marketing

Published June 2020