- Major: Nuclear Engineering
- Company: Dominion Energy
- Graduation Year: Dec 2021
- E-mail: drussel19@vols.utk.edu
Profile
Dayton, Ohio
Dominion Energy is the company with which I did my co-op. They are a power company operating mainly in Virginia, with headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. I did three cooperative rotations in Richmond, Virginia, and at Dominion Energy's Innsbrook office, from January to December, 2019. I remained in Nuclear Safety Analysis (NSA) group I, which is part of the Nuclear Engineering and Fuels (NEF) department. The largest project in which I participated was the verification of the design basis for the Pressure/Temperature limits and Low Temperature Overpressure Protection System (LTOPS).
I mainly wanted to gain some industry experience before graduation that would allow me to see whether certain portions of the industry that I wanted to enter would be a good fit for myself and future employers. Work experience not only gives an advantage in the job market, but I could also see first-hand whether the engineering experience would be something I wanted to continue to pursue. Secondly, it allowed for an earlier start in co-ops and internships, as I was accepted as a sophomore. Lastly, it allowed for a longer experience with a single company, as compared to an internship.
I worked with a mentor to reevaluate flow conditions at several nuclear power plants to verify that the currently-installed operating limits were effective safety margins for continued operations. This was an extremely sensitive and potentially costly evaluation that saved the plants from unnecessary shutdowns and large losses of revenue due to those shutdowns.
Working on long-term projects, with a team, that have real-world and potentially long-term consequences, both good and bad, has made me realize how much I, as an engineer, can affect the world. That reality has made me more attentive to professional and academic projects. Being part of a co-op is a win-win situation. The worst case scenario is that you find that the company or specific job is not something you would want to be a part of, in which case you will still gain professional experience and possibly a reference.
Communication between teams, groups, and departments can be invaluable when solving complicated engineering problems. Even if a certain group is not directly related to a specific project, having an idea of different issues that could arise in areas with which one is not intimately familiar can avoid roadblocks that might otherwise be overlooked.
The technical writing and engineering experience that I gained while participating in my co-op greatly helped me when returning to school. It was a help generally as I learned about how to identify and bound an engineering problem, and I gained specific skills and learned problem solving strategies that gave me experience in nuclear engineering related subjects as well.
There are very few things that will give you hands-on engineering experience, look excellent to potential future employers, and provide instruction on professionalism like participating in the co-op program.
I am a very amateur bonsai enthusiast and I love kayaking, hiking, and camping. I completed a six year enlistment in the US Navy nuclear power program as an Engineering Laboratory Technician (ELT).
