Katie Mummah, May 2017 graduate of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at Illinois, has been chosen as the Student Director of the national American Nuclear Society organization.
Now a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Mummah will represent all student chapter ANS members on the national organization’s Board of Directors. “Whatever decision the society makes, the students will have a voice,” she said of her new post.
Mummah applied for the office last fall, and appeared before the ANS Student Sections Committee to make a case for her selection. Her name was placed on the ballot and she was elected in the spring.
She demonstrated her leadership abilities as an NPRE undergraduate, particularly while serving as president of the ANS student chapter at Illinois during her junior year. Under Mummah’s direction in spring 2016, the very active Illinois group brought 53 students to the society’s national Student Conference, the most of any university other than the host school, the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Illinois group also won the most awards at the conference, with Mummah being presented a Commendation for Service and Leadership.
The Illinois group that year earned the ANS Samuel Glasstone Award, recognizing the best student chapter across the country and reflecting the group’s extensive activities and efforts to build membership.
Continuing to build membership in the national society, a focus of new ANS President Robert N. Coward, is a priority for Mummah. “I want to make sure that I’m working on this initiative,” she said.
“The opportunities that become available to ANS national members are super wide-ranging. It’s cheaper and easier to attend national meetings and student conferences as an ANS national member. And there’s the networking ability to present research, see what other students are researching, and gain exposure to what other professionals are doing.
“(Membership) teaches you how to be a leader and have a role in the larger nuclear industry,” Mummah continued. “Wherever I want to go work, I have contacts across the board that can either give me guidance or help me get a position.”