Education Impacts

Fiscal Year 2024

Investing in Idaho’s future workforce

Growing the talent pipeline requires strategic investments in education and research partnerships with institutions both regionally and nationally. For over 75 years, INL has been at the forefront of offering exceptional educational and employment opportunities in Idaho. To maintain a vibrant talent pipeline, we champion STEM education at all levels. The future is wide open for the next generation of talented individuals to step up and tackle our nation’s energy and security challenges.

Accomplishments and data are from fiscal year 2024.

Interns from Idaho schools

Classrooms reached for computer science and cybersecurity workshops

K-12 students impacted
through 192 STEM events

Research Excellence Programs

Empowering future talent: Internship opportunities

We find, recruit and nurture talented early-career individuals in a variety of specialties. INL hosted 180 interns, three graduate fellows and 13 postdoctoral researchers from Idaho colleges and universities. The lab also brings interns outside Idaho into our state each year. This year, we welcomed a cohort of 625 university interns. These interns come from 163 institutions across 44 states, including Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and three countries outside the United States, reflecting INL’s commitment to diversity and global perspectives. INL once again is top ranked in the Vault Best Internships 2025 ranking in the following categories: tech and engineering (No. 23), engineering (No. 17), and software engineering and development (No. 19). Our interns not only provided valuable insights but also set a participation record.

The path to fusion energy: Collaborative intern-scientist research at INL

For over 40 years, INL’s Fusion Safety Program has worked to enable the Department of Energy’s goal of a clean, safe and economical fusion energy future by providing unique tritium handling facilities and leading-edge modeling tools that impact the global fusion research community. These capabilities position INL at the forefront of fusion safety research, offering critical insights into the behavior of tritium within materials and fusion systems. Now, INL is creating opportunities for students to work with experts as they address challenges facing tomorrow’s fusion industry.

Programming for cost efficiency: An intern’s innovation in nuclear automation

The potential for remote operation and autonomous control, which could improve operational efficiency and reduce risk, is a major selling point for some advanced nuclear technologies. Take microreactors, for example. These small nuclear reactors are designed to operate independently from the electric grid with limited local operating assistance — an exciting notion for rural communities or remote industrial applications like seafood processing or mining. This technology requires the development of complex computer systems. Thankfully, a new generation of nuclear scientists and engineers, like INL human factors intern Lauren Fortier, are up to the task.

Seaborg Institute: Highlighting our postdoc talents

The Seaborg Institute at Idaho National Laboratory, founded in 2018, nurtures talented researchers committed to studying actinide elements. As part of a nationwide consortium, the INL institute offers a distinguished postdoc program for early-career Ph.D. scientists and engineers, focusing on actinide elements for nuclear energy, fuel cycle, waste treatment and proliferation

The ingenious legacy of Deslonde de Boisblanc: Spotlight on INL’s distinguished postdoctoral researchers

Deslonde de Boisblanc’s impact on INL and nuclear reactor design is undeniable, inspiring the next generation of nuclear scientists. During the early 1950s, nuclear engineering was not yet a formal discipline. However, de Boisblanc gained his knowledge of nuclear energy and reactors through hands-on experience at one of the few places conducting such research at the time. The distinguished postdoctoral appointment named in his honor reflects our commitment to advancing future reactor designs and innovations that have yet to be realized.

Advancing nuclear science: The contributions of INL’s Russell L. Heath distinguished postdoctoral associates

Russell L. Heath was renowned for his contributions to gamma-ray spectrometry in nuclear instrumentation. Gamma-ray spectrometry, an essential tool in nuclear science and technology, measures the energy and intensity of gamma rays emitted by radioactive substances. This technique is crucial for identifying and quantifying various radionuclides based on their unique gamma-ray emission spectra. During his 34-year tenure at INL, Heath conducted groundbreaking nuclear research. He is particularly celebrated for publishing an extensive series of gamma-ray spectrum catalogs, which have become invaluable resources for researchers in government labs, academia and industry.

Externally Funded Internships: Sponsoring for tomorrow’s workforce

In the competitive field of scientific research, externally funded internship programs have emerged as vital sources of funding support. One example is the Department of Energy Office of Science, which plays a key role in attracting college and graduate students to contribute to the future energy workforce.

Supporting employee education

We also invest in employees by providing the opportunity to further their education and professional development. During 2024, 301 employees were enrolled in degree programs at Boise State University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, College of Eastern Idaho, Idaho State University and University of Idaho. This program supports employee growth while investing in Idaho’s colleges and universities.

K-12 STEM

Bright Future in Energy Scholarship

The Bright Future in Energy Scholarship Competition entered its fourth year, providing scholarships for high school students planning to pursue an education and career in energy and the environment. Students proposed a solution related to a real-world challenge on energy and the environment and presented to a panel of INL judges. Three scholarship winners with outstanding presentations were matched with an appropriate INL mentor/advocate and awarded $25,000 to be used at a university of their choice. Grand prize winner Jisong Ryu is a student at Timberline High School in Boise. Inaugural prize winner Sarah Cole is now a materials science and engineering student at Boise State University, where she is president of the student section of the American Nuclear Society.

INL Future Corps

The lab expanded INL Future Corps, a technical education program aimed at developing the workforce of the future. It prepares students for careers in traditional STEM positions like research and engineering and STEM-adjacent jobs for technicians, operators, and those in the crafts and skilled labor fields. Participants learn valuable skills in trades and crafts like reading schematics, machining and fabrication, industrial maintenance, welding, and electrical control systems with mentors from a variety of the lab’s facilities and directorates. Future Corps hosted 23 students for internships in FY-24, with many of these students coming from communities like Shelley, Rigby and Blackfoot.

High school science & engineering internships

The science and engineering internship track expanded to 38 students in FY-24, placing students under the guidance of mentors from a variety of INL research directorates. The program culminates in a poster session or research SLAM, where students gain experience discussing their research in posters and presentations. Research topics for students ranged from coding data models for solar panel outputs to using machine learning to analyze municipal solid waste samples.

Rural STEM collaborative

This network of rural schools from around southeast Idaho provides rural and remote communities with scholarships and grants, high-quality STEM learning materials, STEM kits, career exploration opportunities, community STEM nights, and opportunities to participate in the Rural STEM Challenge program. In FY-24, INL hosted the Pathways Student Challenge, tasking rural student teams to design hoppers for processing biomass feedstocks. The lab also expanded the reach of the collaborative, providing STEM learning opportunities in communities like Salmon, Challis, Pierce, Cocolalla and North Gem.

Computer science and cybersecurity education

To meet the growing demand for computer science and cybersecurity skills in the workforce and to address the urgent need for quality learning opportunities in these subject areas, INL generated a new curriculum in programs for computer science and cybersecurity in FY-24. We engaged hundreds of students with hands-on lessons during Computer Science Week and Cybersecurity Awareness Month, distributed computer science lesson plans for thousands more, and offered new computer science and cybersecurity curriculum to over 500 students during our STEM Scholars and CyberCore summer camps.

STEM Scholars and other summer camps

Our STEM Scholars and other summer camps saw dramatic growth in participants, from 480 students in FY-23 to 586 students in FY-24. Held weekly in June and July, these free camps provide students in grades one through 12 with age-appropriate programming on the topics of computer science, cybersecurity and clean energy tailored to each group. Elementary school students learned the fundamentals of computer science and coding. Middle school students focused on topics like coding and robotics. High school students in the CyberCore camp focused on topics such as safe online behavior, circuit design and cybersecurity challengers, while those in the Clean Energy camp learned how renewable energy resources play a key role in our energy future and participated in field research around the region.

My Amazing Future

The My Amazing Future program expanded to two events in FY-24. In January, Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke visited INL, speaking to 105 sixth-grade girls about her passion for nuclear energy and encouraging them to pursue STEM careers. In April, we welcomed 157 eighth-grade girls from middle schools throughout east Idaho for a day of hands-on workshops centered on INL research areas and learning from female STEM professionals from every part of the laboratory.

Hispanic Youth Leadership Summit

INL is a proud sponsor of the annual Hispanic Youth Leadership Summit, an outreach program from the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs that is designed to help underrepresented and underserved students explore STEM career opportunities. The program hosted four summits in 2024, with events in the Magic Valley, Eastern Idaho, Northern Idaho and Treasure Valley areas providing opportunities for students around the state to explore STEM career pathways. INL hosted hands-on workshops, recruited for high school internships and invited students to explore STEM career pathways.

Family Nuclear Science Night

As part of hosting the national event for Nuclear Science Week and in conjunction with the laboratory’s 75th anniversary celebration, Family Nuclear Science Night expanded to two nights in 2024, welcoming over 500 students and parents to the laboratory for an evening of hands-on science projects, creative activities and demonstrations. Students explored educational stations like a Van de Graaff generator and augmented reality exhibits, learning about nuclear science from laboratory staff, energy industry partners and other community organizations.

STEM trailer

As part of our 75th anniversary celebration, INL mobilized its STEM trailer, a mobile, pop-up education space that allows the laboratory to bring an immersive educational experience on the road. At major community events like the War Bonnet Rodeo and Atomic Days, thousands of students and community members were invited to explore this mobile nuclear science lab packed with interactive exhibits.

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