Spring 2016 SPEED-Interchange focuses on nuclear power utilities, regulators, service companies

4/12/2016 Susan Mumm, Editor

Written by Susan Mumm, Editor

Spring 2016 SPEED-Interchange focuses on nuclear power utilities, regulators, service companies

The Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at Illinois Spring 2016 SPEED-Interchange event will focus on nuclear power utilities, regulators and service companies.

The event is set for Thursday, Feb. 11, with visitors from Exelon Corporation, Jensen Hughes, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Sargent & Lundy LLC. Company representatives will meet with students in small group informational sessions in various Talbot Laboratory locations early in the afternoon, followed by a panel presentation at 3:30 p.m. in the Coordinated Science Laboratory Auditorium.

Student Professional Excellence in Engineering Development (SPEED)-Interchange is the evolution of NPRE’s Interchange program. For several years, NPRE and the student chapter of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) have hosted Interchange, a Fall semester event to promote employer-student networking. NPRE alumni and friends have been invited to campus to talk about their companies to students, as well as offer opportunities for internships and/or permanent positions. The new SPEED-Interchange will have a similar mission, but its platform will feature a series of panel sessions to be held in both the Fall and Spring semesters, with specific subject matter targeted for both panelists and students.

Following is the schedule and information regarding the speakers:

Small Group Information Sessions • 1:30-3 p.m.

  • Exelon Corporation • 220 Talbot Lab Lounge
  • Jensen Hughes • 111 Talbot Lab Open Suite Area
  • Nuclear Regulatory Commission • 100H Talbot Lab
  • Sargent & Lundy LLC • 111K Talbot Lab Conference Room

Panel Presentation • 3:30-4:30 p.m. • Coordinated Science Laboratory Auditorium

(Reception following the panel)

Panelists

Exelon Corp.

A FORTUNE 150 company, Exelon work s in every stage of the energy business: power generation, competitive energy sales, transmission and delivery. As the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, Exelo n does business in 48 states, D.C., and Canada and had 2014 revenues of $27.4 billion. The company employs approximately 30,000 people nationwide.
Gabriel Chavez, Senior Dry Cask Storage (DCS) Program Manager
Gabriel Chavez, BS 2007, is an experienced engineer/project manager with a background in Operations/Reactor Engineering, Special Nuclear Material (10CFR74), and Dry Cask Storage (10CFR72) requirements. His previous experience and duties at Exelon have been: Unit Reactor Engineer, Special Nuclear Material Custodian, Personnel Training, and Project Manager.
Jeff Dunlap, Manager, Spent Fuel & Decommissioning
Jeff Dunlap, MS 1994, is responsible for the implementation of decommissioning trust fund NRC reporting, cost estimation, and the cost reimbursement process. He is also responsible for Governance and Oversight of the fuel storage strategy for the Exelon nuclear plants and for the performance of spent fuel pool criticality and fuel selection for dry cask storage. Jeff has over 20 years of experience working in the nuclear power industry, including positions in/with Safety Analysis, Fuel Procurement, and Project Management.
Katelyn Kelly, Core Design Engineer, Quad Cities Generating Station, Cordova, IL
Katelyn Kelly, BS 2011, is responsible for designing and optimizing the reload fuel bundle and core designs that support reliable and economic generation, as well as monitoring and providing technical support for the current cycle operation. Previously, Kelly worked three years as a reactor engineer at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.
Ed McVey, Director, BWR Core Design
Ed McVey, BS 1983, has made his career at Exelon. He has held various positions in the Nuclear Fuels organization and has been assigned to three different nuclear power plants. Currently, he is the Director of Core Design for eight boiling water reactor plants.
Magdalena Rzepecka, Qualified Nuclear Engineer, Dresden Power Station, Morris, IL
Magdalena “Maggie” Rzepecka, BS 2011, is responsible for reactor core reactivity and reactor performance monitoring in support of online and outage work. Rzepecka’ s duties include planning and executing power changing maneuvers with core monitoring software, and providing reactivity management guidance to Operations personnel. Throughout her career at Exelon, she has held the position of Unit 3 Lead Reactor Engineer; Reactor Engineering Reactivity Management Champion, responsible for trending and tracking of Reactivity Management Performance Indicator to minimize and eliminate human performance and equipment issues; and Failed Fuel Monitoring Team Lead, responsible for chemistry sampling recommendation, data assessment, evaluating, and managing a fuel defect. She has also performed oversight of fuel fabrication, fuel receipt, and fuel loading during refueling outages. Rzepecka is the current Special Nuclear Material Custodian at Dresden Station, responsible for ensuring that the functions related to the control of SNM are performed. She was recently nominated for the Class of 2017 Exelon Generation Emerging Leaders Program.

Jensen Hughes

Founded in 1980, Jensen Hughes, Inc. is a global company headquartered in Baltimore, MD. As one of the largest fire protection and life safety engineering and consulting firms with offices worldwide, Jensen Hughes recently expanded its capabilities in lifecycle consultancy services, probabilistic risk assessment and risk management consulting services.
Joe Edom, Senior Corporate Risk Management Engineer
Joe Edom has over 35 years of utility experience in Engineering and Plant Operations. For the past 10 years he has been providing risk analysis and insights in support of emergent plant operational and licensing activities, support of the Configuration Risk Management program, including development of on-line risk assessments, and Maintenance Rule program implementation and assessment. Edom’s experience includes ten years of plant operations experience after obtaining a Senior Reactor Operator license at the Duane Arnold Energy Center.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

As a collegial body, the Commission formulates policies, develops regulations governing nuclear reactor and nuclear material safety, issues orders to licensees, and adjudicates legal matters.
Christine Lipa, Deputy Director, Divison of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region III, Lisle, IL
Christine Lipa joined the NRC in 1990 as a reactor inspector and since that time, she has held other positions in Region III, including Senior Resident Inspector at the Duane Arnold and Perry nuclear power plants; Branch Chief, Division of Reactor Projects (including oversight of the Clinton plant); Branch Chief for Decommissioning and Dry Spent Fuel Storage in the Division of Nuclear Materials Safety (including oversight of the U of I reactor decommissioning); and Branch Chief for engineering inspections
in the Division of Reactor Safety. Prior to joining the NRC, Lipa worked as a systems engineer at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Keller Graduate School in Chicago, Illinois. She also received Professional Engineer licenses from the State of New Hampshire and the State of Illinois.

Sargent & Lundy LLC

For 125 years, Sargent & Lundy LLC has provided comprehensive services for complex power generation and power transmission projects. The company’s top-ranked design firm has an established record of accomplishments, including the design of 952 power plants, totaling 140,093 MW for clients in the public and private sectors worldwide. Sargent & Lundy is currently supporting 106 nuclear units across North America and nuclear clients worldwide.
Brian Jelke, Vice-President
Brian Jelke oversees S&L's work for the Omaha Public Power District’s Fort Calhoun nuclear plant, Nebraska Public Power District’s Cooper Station and NextEra Energy’s Seabrook Station. Jelke is S&L’s Process Chief for Nuclear-Mechanical Processes and serves on the company’s Engineering Oversight Team. He earned his BS (1989) and MS (1991) in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Jelke is a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois and a member of the American Nuclear Society.

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This story was published April 12, 2016.