INL announces NRIC-focused webinar in Industry Engagement series

Idaho National Laboratory’s Small Business Program kicked off the “INL Industry Engagement” webinar series with a discussion on broader economic partnership opportunities with various INL programs. For the next session, the program will continue focusing on partnership opportunities, highlighting the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) led by the laboratory.

Authorized by the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act, NRIC was established in August 2019 to provide resources to test, demonstrate and assess the performance of new nuclear technologies – essential steps that must be completed before new advanced fission systems are available commercially. Among NRIC’s goals is to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear energy technology.

The webinar, which will take place July 8 from 9 to 10 a.m. MDT (11 a.m. to noon EDT), will feature a presentation from NRIC Director Dr. Ashley Finan, who will discuss her vision for the program.

Register Here

Anyone interested in learning more about NRIC and partnerships related to INL’s unique nuclear research capabilities is invited to join. There will be a live Q&A session with Finan at the end of her presentation for those able to attend the live event. For those who are unable to attend live, there will be a recording available.

Click here to see a schedule of upcoming events. Click below to watch a recording of the first webinar.

'I took messy action' | Amy Wood, Radiant and Rooted and Amy Lorraine Coaching

Amy Wood

Starting a women's empowerment retreat wasn't something that Amy Wood thought would be in her life, especially one surrounding meditation and connecting with one's higher self. Amy herself was struggling with being a wife and mom and saw the insecurities she had herself in others. “I needed a tribe, I needed something outside of what I was doing in the home. My soul felt like there was more. I was being called to it,” she said. She gathered her friends and planted the seed of the idea and it grew from there.

“I took messy action,” Amy said.

It was immediately successful with women, and the first retreat was sold out within 24 hours. “I think they were craving connection. A weekend with other like-minded individuals to connect, to feel loved, to be seen, to learn more about their purpose,” Amy said. It was a surprise to Amy and her friends that it was as successful as it was. She admits that the events have evolved since the first retreat and they keep getting bigger and better.

Amy doesn't have any special schooling around thought work, but she did (and continues to do) a lot of self-learning. She and her friends invested in their own education and then they were able to teach it themselves. She feels that her soul was called to do this work.

“When they leave, it's up to them to continue to do the work to change their lives. The women who come are hungry and want to put in the work. They are incredible and they make the (retreats) incredible,” Amy said.



Most of the attendees are there because of word of mouth from prior guests. Each retreat is different and varies from weekend events to weeklong retreats. They also have events that are held for an evening, giving an abbreviated version of the longer retreats.

“I thought I had things figured out when I started, and what I learned is that I'm on the journey too,” Amy said about herself. It's a lifelong journey, and she said she now understands how perfection will never be reached, which she teaches to her attendees. “I've learned that I need the healing, too. I can give myself some grace and compassion where I fall short. It was a piece of humble pie to take the journey along with them,” she said.

After retreats her attendees would ask her what was next. With that, she decided to do 1-on-1 individual coaching and group coaching. This also led to her husband, Steven, joining her to add the element of business coaching for some clients. She said during the COVID-19 crisis she has had more people reaching out for help and guidance.

Although the pandemic has caused one event to be canceled and another rescheduled, the business continues. This summer they will be having a co-ed retreat on the Salmon River. “We actually hope to get some more international retreats,” Amy said of her plans for the future.

Being an entrepreneur was something that Amy feels has been in her blood. She comes from a family of entrepreneurs and she felt the concept of working for someone else was foreign. This has helped set up her mindset for self-employment. Her optimism helped move her husband to self-employment. Be sure to listen to the show to hear her story of Nutella and graham crackers.

Amy's advice to those considering self-employment is, “If you have any pull or any idea, do it. Take the messy action and take the risk. You can have any life you want -- you just have to do the work that comes with it. You're never going to feel ready, you're never going to feel qualified.”

Amy has created a course called A Guide to Intuitive Living, A Soul-Centered Life, and will be launching it in July. This will include pods of group coaching that she will personally take through the course. Follow her on Instagram for more information on how to enroll.

Information

For more information on retreats, events, and more go to https://www.radiantandrooted.com/ or at https://www.instagram.com/radiant.rooted/.
Follow Amy on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/amylorraine23/.

INL researcher selected for DOE Early Career Research Program

Dr. Paul Humrickhouse

An Idaho National Laboratory scientist engaged in nuclear fusion research has been selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program.

Dr. Paul Humrickhouse, INL’s Fusion Safety Program lead, is one of 76 scientists from around the nation – 50 from universities and 26 from national laboratories – to be selected. Under the program, run by the DOE Office of Science and now in its 11th year, researchers at DOE national laboratories receive grants of at least $500,000 per year. The grants extend over five years and are intended to provide support to exceptional researchers during their crucial early career years, when many do their most formative and groundbreaking work.

“We are immensely proud to see Dr. Humrickhouse achieve this distinction,” said Dr. Marianne Walck, INL’s chief research officer and deputy laboratory director for Science & Technology. “This is a fine reflection of INL’s reputation in the world of peer-reviewed research. It points not only to significant accomplishments already achieved, but discoveries that have the potential to change the world.”

Humrickhouse received his doctorate in nuclear engineering and engineering physics from the University of Wisconsin in 2009. He came to INL as a postdoctoral researcher that year, then joined the staff. His research has involved computational modeling and analysis of fission and fusion systems.

In any fusion reactor, plasma is surrounded by a blanket filled with lithium compounds whose purpose is to produce tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, for reuse as fuel. Computational modeling helps researchers predict fluid flow and heat transfer in the high-radiation environment. Using the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) – an open source simulation platform developed at INL – Humrickhouse intends to focus on the influence of high magnetic fields and material structure on tritium transport by coupling to other physics models and simulation tools. This should lead to safety evaluations necessary for the realization of fusion energy.

To be eligible for the DOE award, a researcher must be an untenured, tenure-track assistant or associate professor at a U.S. academic institution or a full-time employee at a DOE national laboratory, who received a Ph.D. within the past 10 years. Research topics are required to fall within one of the DOE Office of Science's six major program offices:

• Advanced Scientific Computing Research
• Basic Energy Sciences
• Biological and Environmental Research
• Fusion Energy Sciences
• High Energy Physics
• Nuclear Physics

Awardees are selected based on peer review by outside scientific experts. The details for each project award are subject to final grant and contract negotiations between DOE and the awardees. A full list of winners is available here: https://science.osti.gov/early-career.

Supporting Business & Strengthening Lives | Cordell Pickering, Pick PT Physical Therapy, Apex Fitness and Performance

Cordell Pickering

Cordell Pickering always knew he wanted to be a physical therapist, but he also knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. “When I was 16 years old I did an English report where our teacher told us to find a profession we were interested in. The projections showed that physical therapy was a good profession,” he said.

Pickering chose Pick PT as the name for several reasons, not just because of his last name, but because he wants patients to pick PT before narcotics, especially for back injury. “The motto of our company is ‘Live Life Moving.' The evidence for treating people with back pain is movement,” he said.

He chose Rexburg to open his practice because of his training in spine therapy. There was a physician's office that was interested in working with him to rehab their spine patents, so Rexburg was a good fit. Cordell also is trained in vestibular therapy, working with local ENT's on patients with inner ear problems.

His physical therapy practice has expanded to Idaho Falls and is performed out of his second business, Apex Fitness and Performance. “Here it's different, there are two evaluation rooms and a huge gym,” he said. “A big issue in the PT world is that patients don't get stressed enough. A lot of issues are an endurance issue in their spine. It's definitely a different type of gym, but I've really enjoyed it.” His plans are to spend more time in Idaho Falls treating patients than he has in the past and growing his practice in both cities.



Pickering comes from a family that has had several different businesses. He has always known that owning a business would be a part of his life. “A lot of physical therapists aren't interested in doing to the business side of things. For me, it really comes down to how I grew up. I grew up in an environment of being with a business family. Talking about business on Sunday is not an uncommon thing,” he said.

He has had his own experience with back pain and in treating his family for their back pain, related to the type of the blue-collar work they have all done. He feels that makes him more relatable to his patients.

The gym focuses on performance and helping athletes achieve their peak performance. During the coronavirus pandemic, Pickering has started a Facebook group called Stand Up to COVID-19 Support East Idaho Local Business. “The reason that I started this group is that when COVID started I noticed that there were a lot of business owners who were confused and stressed out and they didn't know what to do. When I started the group it grew pretty quick. I created the group to try to bring good information and provide a platform for business owners to advertise and community members to support them,” he said.

The future of the group is to keep it open and active as a way to support East Idaho business. “The thing that is going to make the group the most effective is the number of members. I'm hoping to increase the group and keep it going after COVID-19,” he said. All businesses are allowed to post on the group up to twice per week.

Having opened his businesses during a very difficult time, Pickering has had to rely on his optimism. “I try not to get discouraged," he said. "I think every business owner probably had a little stress headache the first couple of weeks when everything was getting shut down. For me, I take it as there is nothing I can do about the situation and I can't change any laws. All I can do is be optimistic and helpful.” He feels this will be the key to his success in the future -- to be helpful to the community.

Information

For more information on Pick PT, visit the website at https://www.pickpt.com/. To learn more about Apex Fitness and Performance visit https://www.apexfitnessandperformance.com/.

Please join the Stand Up to COVID-19 – Support East Idaho Business Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/502652830641635/.

University of Idaho launching cybersecurity degree program

The University of Idaho College of Engineering is launching Idaho's first bachelor's degree program in cybersecurity, open to students this fall.

With more than 75 billion internet-connected devices expected worldwide by 2025, cybersecurity
professionals are essential to protecting Idaho’s computing systems, networks and critical
infrastructure. A study conducted for the nonprofit Center for Cyber Safety and Education estimates there will be 1.8 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally by 2022.

“The University of Idaho has long been a leader in cybersecurity research through partnerships with industry and government that date back more than two decades,” U of I President Scott Green said. “The addition of the state’s first bachelor’s degree program in cybersecurity continues that trend. Our students are already in high demand, and this new cybersecurity program will provide a focused curriculum that will further arm them with the crucial skills needed to protect our digital infrastructure.”

As one of the National Security Agency’s first seven National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, U of I is a leader in advanced cybersecurity education and research, spanning more than two decades.

Students have access to the College of Engineering’s global network of leading industry partners, including Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Power, POWER Engineers and Avista Utilities. Global power systems protection leader SEL and the College of Engineering began a $2.5 million partnership in April. The five-year agreement will support the cybersecurity program through ongoing research projects and faculty and graduate student assistance.

With support from the Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, the College of Engineering developed a distributed testbed connecting cyberattack response research infrastructure in Moscow, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene.

Work is being done to build a network between U of I’s Reconfigurable Attack-Defend Instructional Computing Laboratories in Idaho Falls and Moscow to allow students to simulate cyberattack and defense protocols within isolated labs.

Since 2002, the U of I Center for Secure and Dependable Systems has awarded nearly
$9 million in undergraduate tuition to students participating in the  CyberCorps:
Scholarship for Service (SFS)  program. Funded through the National Science Foundation, the SFS program provides tuition stipends of up to $25,000 for an undergraduate and $34,000 for a graduate student for cybersecurity training for positions at the federal, state, local and tribal levels.

Learn more about this new degree program at uidaho.edu/bs-cybersecurity.