In Nov 2024, Tremaine group Ph.D. candidate Sam Binkley travelled to Germany to present at the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Global Forum Rising Stars Workshop.
Mission:
Following on from the success of the inaugural Rising Stars workshop hosted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in September 2023, the 2024 edition was hosted at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Karlsruhe, Germany on 25-26 November 2024.
The Global Forum Rising Stars Programme’s mission is to reach within the nuclear field, adjacent disciplines, and beyond to welcome female rising stars in science, technology, education and policy into the global nuclear community. The programme achieves these goals through an annual workshop and additional activities to:
- Offer professional development and resume-building opportunities for female undergraduate, graduate and postgraduates in the nuclear and nuclear-adjacent fields;
- Introduce participants to mentors and advocates who can discuss strategies and opportunities and help with navigating career paths in the nuclear field; and
- Create cohort groups that provide opportunities for peer-to-peer networking and support that can last an entire career.
Workshop Activities
The workshop featured a plenary speech, invited talks, a Nuclear Careers panel, a poster session, JRC tours, and even a “speed mentoring” event (see below). Sam presented a talk titled “Thermodynamic Properties of Aqueous Amines for Modelling Nuclear Power Plant Chemistry”.
Additional information:
The full conference program from 2024 can be found here. A recap of the event has been published online by NEA, available here. The 2025 edition will be hosted by the University of Michigan in parallel with the first NEA Global Forum Symposium during the week of 29 September – 3 October 2025.
