Harper Academy All Stars: a summer program aimed at improving diversity, innovation, and interest in the nuclear engineering technologies

Katie Snyder; Aditi Verma; Aisha Jagne; Andy Pham

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: ECCNE Technical Session 1 - Nuclear Engineering
Tagged Divisions: Energy Conversion and Conservation and Nuclear Engineering Division (ECCNE)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 11
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/56685

Paper Authors

biography

Katie Snyder University of Michigan

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Dr. Snyder is a lecturer and assistant research scientist for the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. She has been teaching communication, ethics, and design for more than 17 years.

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biography

Aditi Verma University of Michigan

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Aditi Verma (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan. Aditi is broadly interested in how fission and fusion technologies specifically and energy systems broadly—and their institutional infrastructures—can be designed in more creative, participatory, and equitable ways. To this end, her research group at the University of Michigan works towards developing a more fundamental understanding of the early stages of the design process to improve design practice and pedagogy, and also improve the tools with which designers of complex sociotechnical systems work.
She was previously a Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Prior to her appointment at the Belfer Center, Aditi worked at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, her work, endorsed and funded by policymakers from the NEA member countries, focused on bringing epistemologies from the humanities and social sciences to academic and practitioner nuclear engineering, thus broadening their epistemic core. At the NEA, Aditi also led the establishment of the Global Forum on Nuclear Education, Science, Technology, and Policy.
Aditi holds undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Nuclear Science and Engineering from MIT. Her work, authored for academic as well as policymaking audiences, has been published in Nuclear Engineering and Design, Nature, Nuclear Technology, Design Studies, Journal of Mechanical Design, Issues in Science and Technology, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Inkstick.
Aditi enjoys hiking with her dog, reading speculative fiction, and experimenting in the kitchen.

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Aisha Jagne University of Michigan

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Andy Pham University of Michigan

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Abstract

Recently, the Department of Energy and other entities have called for increased and strategic attention to workforce development in the nuclear sector. This call is being made in the context of significant advances and innovations in nuclear engineering. For example, as fission microreactors and fusion energy systems come online, the need for technical experts becomes more pressing; these technologies can play a central role in a multi-pronged approach (along with wind, solar, and other renewables) to decarbonize our energy systems.

However, public sentiment on nuclear energy remains a challenge. Inviting students into nuclear engineering, when most high schools mainly introduce nuclear energy by way of its disasters, is a hurdle we have yet to overcome. Certainly, the American Nuclear Society offers K-12 education and is seeking to address this problem, as are some universities that provide nuclear research opportunities to rising high school students. Still, much work remains, given that students still turn more readily to mechanical, electrical, and other engineering disciplines.

At the same time, diversity in the energy engineering workforce has also been an area in need of development and attention. We know that far fewer women and people of color enter engineering professions, though those percentages vary significantly by discipline. Lack of diversity can only hinder our progress, so efforts to increase diversity must be prioritized along with K-12 education education, and innovations aimed at rapid decarbonization.

The Harper Academy launched in the summer of 2024 with the aim of addressing these three pressing needs. The academy was organized by Dr. Jeff Harper of X-Energy in collaboration with a large research university and sponsored by various donors. With an inaugural class of eight rising high school juniors, the 4-week summer academy introduced students to nuclear engineering concepts and practices. Four female and four male students of color took daily courses in physics, math, design, and communication in between tours of engineering labs and guest presentations from experts in the field. Students also learned community-engaged design and hosted a workshop with community members where they collaborated on siting a nuclear energy system in southeast Michigan. They also engaged in speculative design and ideation through a hands-on workshop that invited students to consider nuclear engineers’ deep time obligation and commitment to enduring technological stewardship.

Upon entering the program, none of the students had seriously considered becoming nuclear engineers; at the program’s completion, seven of eight students said they planned to apply to nuclear engineering programs in the year ahead. The Harper Academy will continue in Summer 2025 with the aim of doubling the number of students enrolled. This paper will detail the summer academy curriculum, additional program outcomes, and plans for future development.

Citation
Format

Snyder, K., & Verma, A., & Jagne, A., & Pham, A. (2025, June), Harper Academy All Stars: a summer program aimed at improving diversity, innovation, and interest in the nuclear engineering technologies Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/56685

TY - CPAPER
AB - Recently, the Department of Energy and other entities have called for increased and strategic attention to workforce development in the nuclear sector. This call is being made in the context of significant advances and innovations in nuclear engineering. For example, as fission microreactors and fusion energy systems come online, the need for technical experts becomes more pressing; these technologies can play a central role in a multi-pronged approach (along with wind, solar, and other renewables) to decarbonize our energy systems.

However, public sentiment on nuclear energy remains a challenge. Inviting students into nuclear engineering, when most high schools mainly introduce nuclear energy by way of its disasters, is a hurdle we have yet to overcome. Certainly, the American Nuclear Society offers K-12 education and is seeking to address this problem, as are some universities that provide nuclear research opportunities to rising high school students. Still, much work remains, given that students still turn more readily to mechanical, electrical, and other engineering disciplines.

At the same time, diversity in the energy engineering workforce has also been an area in need of development and attention. We know that far fewer women and people of color enter engineering professions, though those percentages vary significantly by discipline. Lack of diversity can only hinder our progress, so efforts to increase diversity must be prioritized along with K-12 education education, and innovations aimed at rapid decarbonization.

The Harper Academy launched in the summer of 2024 with the aim of addressing these three pressing needs. The academy was organized by Dr. Jeff Harper of X-Energy in collaboration with a large research university and sponsored by various donors. With an inaugural class of eight rising high school juniors, the 4-week summer academy introduced students to nuclear engineering concepts and practices. Four female and four male students of color took daily courses in physics, math, design, and communication in between tours of engineering labs and guest presentations from experts in the field. Students also learned community-engaged design and hosted a workshop with community members where they collaborated on siting a nuclear energy system in southeast Michigan. They also engaged in speculative design and ideation through a hands-on workshop that invited students to consider nuclear engineers’ deep time obligation and commitment to enduring technological stewardship.

Upon entering the program, none of the students had seriously considered becoming nuclear engineers; at the program’s completion, seven of eight students said they planned to apply to nuclear engineering programs in the year ahead. The Harper Academy will continue in Summer 2025 with the aim of doubling the number of students enrolled. This paper will detail the summer academy curriculum, additional program outcomes, and plans for future development.

AU - Katie Snyder
AU - Aditi Verma
AU - Aisha Jagne
AU - Andy Pham
CY - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DA - 2025/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Harper Academy All Stars: a summer program aimed at improving diversity, innovation, and interest in the nuclear engineering technologies
UR - https://peer.asee.org/56685
ER -