b'Graduate Fellow Program 52Grad Fellow 31 8 ApplicantsDifferent19 Offers UniversitiesFinalists Extended and Represented AcceptedIn FY23, the INL GraduateGRAD FELLOW SPOTLIGHT Fellowship program saw 52So-Bin Cho, a graduate fellow working at applicants from 31 universities,Integrated Energy and Market Analysis, a new resulting in 19 finalists. Eightclean-energy transition initiative that researches offers were extended andintegrated energy generation, storage and accepted, with six going to U.S.delivery technologies needed for a net zero citizens and two to internationalfuture under the Integrated Energy System students. This year, graduateprogram, recently undertook two significant fellows achieved Ph.D. degrees,projects. The first involved collaborative storage transitioned to postdoctoral rolesefforts between the University of Michigan and secured full-time positionsSo-Bin Cho and the INL. Guided by Aaron Epiney, System in the laboratory. The programSimulations lead and software architect and underwent a revamp for growthPaul Talbot, System Simulations lead, Cho and success, adjusting the timelinedeveloped expertise in INLs energy asset optimization framework. The for international students to alignstudy revealed that coupling the existing nuclear fleet with thermal with federal work authorizationstorage is cost-effective, and advanced reactor designs with load-following guidelines. In FY-23, the lab hostedcapabilities complement grid-scale batteries. The projects findings offer a cohort of 21 graduate fellowsvaluable insights for retrofitting current nuclear plants and commercializing from 18 universities, includingadvanced reactors, and they were presented at the 30th International Massachusetts Institute ofConference on Nuclear Engineering, winning the Best Poster Award.Technology; University of California, Berkeley; University of Michigan;In his ongoing INL fellowship, Cho is exploring potential use cases for Pennsylvania State University; andthermal energy storage, focusing on challenging-to-decarbonize sectors Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.such as oil refineries. Collaborating with his mentor and technical lead The program also welcomedat the Integrated Energy Systems Rami Saeed, Cho is using the INL Force students from regional andFramework to assess how coupling advanced reactors with thermal energy research partnership institutions,storage can benefit industrial stakeholders, including nuclear vendors and such as the University of Idaho (Uindustrial heat consumers. The project identifies cost-optimal interactions of I), Boise State University (BSU),between electricity markets and optimal storage capacities. Looking ahead, University of Texas at San AntonioCho plans to concentrate on their thesis, aiming to address complex issues and the University of Utah. related to coupling nuclear reactors and thermal energy storage.16 R E S E A R C H E XC E L L E N C E'