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Texas A&M University Department of Nuclear Engineering
Nuclear engineering students Jordan Hillis, August Farek, Daniel Best and Maxwell Koester were recently recognized at the State of Texas Chapter of the Health Physics Society annual and student meeting held in San Antonio. | Image: Texas A&M Engineering

Several students in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University received awards and recognition at the State of Texas Chapter ​of the Health Physics Society (STC-HPS) annual and student meeting held in San Antonio.

The STC-HPS, chartered in 1964, is a scientific society of professionals who specialize in radiation safety. This year’s annual and student meeting centered on the current best practices in health physics with a focus on operational aspects.

Jordan Hillis, August Farek, Daniel Best and Maxwell Koester were the students recognized at the meeting:

  • Hillis received second place for her presentation, “Preliminary Study of Dose Rates to Rhinoceros Basal Cells from a Radioactive Source to Deter Poaching.”
  • Farek received fourth place for his presentation, “Simulation of Silicon Photomultipliers and Photomultiplier Tubes on Large-Sized Plastic Scintillators.”
  • Best received fifth for his presentation, “Improvements of Background Neutron Estimation for Mobile Radiological Search Systems by the Exclusion of Fission Events.”
  • Koester received a $1,000 Student Education Grant from STC-HPS.

“I am proud of the recognition we received and the accomplishments each student made,” Hillis said. “We hope we can continue to encourage students to take an interest in health physics.”

Hillis, Farek and Best are graduate students studying under Dr. Craig Marianno, nuclear engineering associate professor.