Summer interns a welcome addition at US ITER

Three outstanding interns have shared their time and talents this summer with staff at the US ITER Project Office in Oak Ridge.

Zach Campeau, who received his Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Clemson University in South Carolina, worked with Brad Nelson to review processes and procedures, build informative resources, and corral and condense information. He currently attends IESE Business School in Barcelona, where he is working on a bilingual Master's degree in Business Administration.

Zach became interested in engineering at an early age, and he says his parents fostered the enthusiasm by giving him building blocks and an erector set. He worked previously at Raytheon Company as a manufacturing engineer and also did an internship at Ethicon Inc. After completing his studies, Zach would like to stay in the realm of "big science, energy, and international projects."

Danielle Newell worked with Juan Ferrada to help remodel the vacuum vessel cooling water system so that it matches the new design. She has studied at Pellissippi State Community College and will be attending East Tennessee State University, majoring in physics with a mathematics minor.

"A great physics teacher" helped pique Danielle's interest in science when she was a high school student. She is considering teaching when she attends graduate school and adds that she would love to work at ITER in France after finishing her studies.

Tyler Whittle is a junior at Nashville's Vanderbilt University majoring in engineering science and physics. This summer Tyler worked with Dave Rasmussen in modelling the microwave propagation in sections of the electron cyclotron waveguide and automating the measurements of the high-vacuum performance of the waveguide.

Tyler's enjoyment of science and math classes in high school set him on his current path, which has also included an internship through the University of Tennessee conducting research on resonance frequencies of rhenium diboride. After completing his undergraduate studies, he hopes to earn a higher degree in physics and eventually share his passion for science with others by becoming a professor.

As US ITER Project Manager Ned Sauthoff said in a recent staff e-mail, "We are fortunate to have hosted these exceptional young people, and we wish them continued success in their academic endeavours."