HerStory: Julie Ezold Meet Julie Ezold

Current Position: Californium-252 Program Manager, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Education:

• B.S., Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• M.S., Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University

Award/Accomplishments:

• 2019 - American Nuclear Society’s E. Gail de Planque Medal for the advancement of radioisotope production that led to the synthesis of new elements, and for contributions to space exploration and to the training of a new generation of nuclear scientists. The de Planque Medal recognizes exemplary accomplishments by a woman in nuclear science and engineering. The ANS established the award in honor of the late E. Gail de Planque, a former commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and ANS president, who helped influence public policy on nuclear and environmental issues.
• 2018 - UT-Batelle, LLC Awards Night Science Communicator. “For leadership in communicating the importance and impact of nuclear science to numerous groups through interactive presentations, program coordination, and community outreach. Her communication efforts and advocacy of ORNL’s science have reached thousands in East Tennessee and beyond.”

Areas of Interest: 

I am active with the American Nuclear Society where I am currently:

• the chair of the Nuclear Engineering Education for the Disadvantaged Committee;
• the vice chair for the Scholarship Policy and Coordination Committee;
• serving on the Executive Committee for the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division.

I am active with the U.S. Women In Nuclear where I am on the Communications Committee.

Why is representing women as a STEM leader important to you?

“When I was going through my undergraduate degree, there just weren't that many women in STEM. On our advisory panel at Rensselaer we had one female, and my department head made sure I met her, because I had made a comment earlier about there were no women. That particular woman was Gail de Planque. She was the first female NRC commissioner, and I believe she was also the first female American Nuclear Society president. And so, knowing that there was somebody else out there that looked like you, that was married, that was very competent in their position. At least you didn't feel like you were alone.”

Current ORISE Mentor: In the past five years I have mentored students in both the Higher Education Research Experience (HERE) and the Nuclear Engineering Science Laboratory Synthesis (NESLS) programs.