2016 | ANNUAL REPORT 25 “We’re hoping to have a calculation model that can be used as a predictive tool for folks developing alloy materials for reactors,” he said. For the necessary comparisons, Swenson has used data collected on materials exposed to radiation in Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Advanced Test Reactor, the NSUF’s original asset and still one of its most important. Swenson was awarded his first project, entitled “Understanding the Effects of Irradiation Dose Rate and ParticleType in Ferritic/Martensitic Alloys” in 2015. The award provided him with access to materials characterization equipment at the NSUF, where he compared the effects of charged particle irradiation to neutron irradiation on the microstructural evolution of advanced F/M alloys HT9 and HCM12A. He made use of the Microscopy and Characterization Suite (MaCS) at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), with instruments such as the focused ion beam (FIB), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Localized Electron Atom Probe (LEAP). “It works really well to make a sample at CAES, do analysis onsite at CAES with the tools at MaCS, then take all the data home,” he said. “Without the resources at CAES, I probably would have picked a different school than Boise State University.” His involvement in the NSUF has led to a seat as the student member on the NSUF Users Organization’s Executive Committee, which serves as an advocacy group for the NSUF’s experimental activities and provides a communication channel among users of the NSUF. “The networking opportunity really makes a big difference,” he said. Wharry, now at Purdue University, views the NSUF as essential to Swenson’s success. “I don’t think I can give enough credit to how important it was as a resource to him,” she said. “The rapid turnaround projects gave him a lot of experience to help him become proficient in microscopy.” They also provided a learning curve for proposal writing – a skill all graduate students need to learn. “Writing his own proposals, I think that was a really big step for him,” she said. Wharry said the NSUF is a resource she plans to continue to use with her students. One of her Purdue students, Keyou Mao, had plans to spend more than a month at CAES in summer 2017. “It’s an incredible resource,” she said. “I’ve seen this model that has worked really well for Matt and me.” “It works really well to make a sample at CAES,do analysis onsite at CAES with the tools at MaCS,then take all the data home.Without the resources at CAES,I probably would have picked a different school than Boise State University.”