The Waste Management Symposia 2020 (WM2020) was an amazing experience. It was the first time I attended such a large symposium with thousands of attendees. I was impressed with the level of detail and the daily coordination for the event. All the booths and expositions looked professional and very well prepared. It was an honor for me to be surrounded by a domestic and international committee that is dedicated to waste management.

DOE Fellows with Dr. Ike White, U.S. Department of Energy Office’s Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.

DOE Fellows with Dr. Ike White, U.S. Department of Energy Office’s Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.

I participated in the “Wants and Needs of Graduating Students and New Engineers – Are companies even listening?” panel for this year’s symposia. I took the role of the graduate student and presented the wants and needs of my peers as well as my own. The panel was intimidating at first because Melody Bell (EM ADAS for Resource Management, US DOE) and Joseph Aylor (Director Business Development, Amentum) were fellow panelists as well. Overall it was a productive session and I got to interact with members from the DOE who can make the necessary changes for the new generation of graduating students.

Panelist for “Wants and Needs of Graduating Students and New Engineers – Are companies even listening?”

Panelist for “Wants and Needs of Graduating Students and New Engineers – Are companies even listening?”

While at WMS2020 I also participated in the student poster competition. I presented my research work on “Deep Learning Implementation for Structural Health Monitoring of Nuclear Facility”. It was an exciting event that lasted for four hours. Many attendees found the research interesting and showed a genuine interest in the approach taken for the applied Artificial Intelligence. Although I was not in the top 3 winners I felt like a winner because the experience was enriching and people got to hear about my work.

Roger Boza presenting Deep Learning Implementation for Structural Health Monitoring of Nuclear Facility.

Roger Boza presenting Deep Learning Implementation for Structural Health Monitoring of Nuclear Facility.

I was able to enjoy walking around the symposia looking at the latest technologies in the time available between preparing for the panel presentation and competing in the student poster session. There were many booths showing their innovations and gadgets. I particularly found one very interesting being showcased by Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL). It was a virtual reality immersion environment that allowed a user to drive a bulldozer around an obstacle course. The obstacle course simulated areas of contamination that had to be evaded. The control system provided haptic feedback and made the immersion feel more realistic.

Roger Boza immersed in a virtual environment driving a bulldozer evading obstacles.

Roger Boza immersed in a virtual environment driving a bulldozer evading obstacles.

The WM2020 gave me an insight into all the amazing work being done at the national labs as well as the private sector. I look forward to attending the event again next year!

 

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