Iretunde Akinsola knew what first-time students attending the University of Tennessee/Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fusion Summer School this year would be experiencing. Akinsola took part in the inaugural summer session last year and remembered feeling overwhelmed at the start.
“I wanted to help get them in a positive headspace,” said Akinsola, who recently graduated from Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. “I told them to stay the course and by the end of the summer they would feel much better and understand what these people were talking about.”
The second year of the Fusion Summer School featured 24 students from across the state and country, a 50 percent increase from last year’s inaugural class. Most of the students were serving summer internships at ORNL and attended the one-week intensive course to become familiar with graduate education opportunities relevant to fusion at UT in nuclear engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, and interdisciplinary research.
The summer school, which took place in the Zeanah Engineering Complex, was led by NE Professors Livia Casali and David Donovan, and ORNL’s Ted Biewer.
The week included introductory lectures on various topics, lab visits and demonstrations, UT graduate student panel discussions, and ORNL guest lecturers. One of the primary goals of the summer school was to allow interns to get to know each other and become comfortable interacting with UT faculty, UT grad students, and ORNL scientists.
“This was not required of the students, but many wanted to spend a week learning about fusion. They were eager to jump in,” Donovan said. “They each have their own individual mentors at Oak Ridge and the mentors are all very supportive as well. We had several of them speak throughout the week.”
Spreading Fusion Knowledge
Along with students, professors from colleges across the region attended the daily sessions to take back content they can offer their students, furthering UT’s land-grant mission.
“It’s a huge opportunity for people to learn more about the programming,” Donovan said. “The goal isn’t necessarily just to get people to work in fusion. It’s also to spread knowledge about it and get people familiar with it. It’s helping people learn about it, because they’re very curious about it.”
Following the completion of the summer school, a poll of the students found they had increased their knowledge of plasma physics and fusion technology by at least 35 percent. Akinsola was among the group and was glad he chose to return for another summer of immersive learning.
“This time was not as intimidating and daunting. Everything made a lot more sense this summer,” he said. “I have gained a deeper understanding for fusion—where we are, where we need to go, and what we’ve currently achieved in fusion.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)