Doctoral student Ley earns DOE, Milton Mohr fellowships

Jazmin Ley, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, has been selected as one of four national recipients of the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Laboratory Residency Graduate Fellowship (DOE NNSA LRGF).

Ley was also among the 30 College of Engineering students – 12 graduate students and 18 undergraduates – chosen to receive 2022-23 academic year awards from Milton E. Mohr Scholarship and Fellowship Program.

"Whether my path leads to academia or industry, the fellowships will provide me with financial and academic support that create a strong jumping-off point when I am done with my schooling," Ley said.

The DOE NNSA LRGF provides financial, academic, research, networking and professional development opportunities to students pursuing a Ph.D. in fields of study that address complex science and engineering problems critical to stewardship science, especially in regard to the nation's nuclear stockpile.

Fellows work and study in residence at one or more of four approved DOE NNSA facilities for a minimum of two 12-week periods. Ley will work and study next summer at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Ley said the LRGF will provide opportunities and experiences, including non-destructive evaluation of 3D-printed metal components, that will be vital to her doctoral studies and professional goals.

"The residency at Los Alamos allows me to obtain knowledge through training and gives me the opportunity to work with some of the best researchers in my field. I hope this experience will help me establish working relationships and continue collaborative work after the residencies and graduation."

Ley, who at Nebraska is part of Joseph Turner's Quantitative Ultrasonics for Inspection and Structural Prognosis (QUISP) Research Group, has research experience in developing wave scattering models using finite element analysis and ultrasonic inspection of additively manufactured (3-D printed) metal parts.

Last summer, Ley was part of the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP) and worked on developing a repeatability study for the production and nondestructive evaluation of nickel aluminum bronze samples for naval applications. She will continue working on this project this summer.

In her third year, Ley is part of a cooperative Ph.D. program between UNL and the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, which has recently started the new Consortium of Advanced Additive Manufacturing Research and Education for Energy Related Systems with funding from the DOE-NNSA. Through that connection, Ley said, she was able to reach out to Los Alamos to complete the application for the DOE NNSA LRGF.

"These projects have provided focus to my research as a doctoral student, and the DOE NNSA LRGF will allow me to contribute to the larger scientific community," Ley said.