Published on the 24th December 2015 by ANSTO Staff
“This internship was one of the best moments in my life. I am very lucky to have had this chance. I’ve developed myself in various ways and had a really great time in Sydney,” commented Jimin Lee at the end of her five-month project at ANSTO.
Lee and Haneol Park were participants in the ‘Global Internship Support Program for Korean Next Generation’ which is sponsored by the Korean Nuclear International Cooperation Foundation (KONICOF).
Lee is studying Nuclear and Quantum Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Park is a senior year student working towards a Bachelor of Science at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) with a major in nuclear engineering. Since its commencement in 2013, ANSTO has hosted eight interns.
“Above all, the best part of this internship is the research. It was such a valuable experience. I could undertake my own research project for five months, which was a significant task for an undergraduate student” said Park.
Park worked in the Nuclear Analysis section of the OPAL research reactor, modelling heat transfer efficiency in the cold neutron source. It included evaluating the moderator system which is used to de-energise neutrons. The cold neutron beam is used for studies that look into the characterisation of polymers or the dynamics of proteins.
He used a specific computer modelling code for analysing different operational settings. This data is valuable for OPAL operations as it allows for set operational criteria and optimisation of the system’s response under certain transient conditions, such as a power outage. Park confirmed that the risk from hot damage was very low.
Lee worked in Radiation Protection Services to identify and quantify radionuclides present in OPAL research reactor pool water. For her project, she developed a process for analysing the OPAL pool water sample, and worked with various groups across ANSTO using different techniques for measuring samples. Her measurements confirmed that the filters in the various water circuits worked well and that there were no alpha and pure beta emitters in the OPAL pool water.
KONICOF is part of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, and brings together Korean institutions involved in the nuclear industry for the purposes of human resources development. The application and selection process is administered jointly by KONICOF’s Nuclear Education Cooperation Centre and ANSTO’s International Relations team.
The collaboration between ANSTO and KONICOF has strengthened relationships with some of the future leaders of the Korean nuclear industry.
ANSTO colleagues working with Lee and Park were impressed with their engagement, quick understanding, joyfulness and readiness to take on new challenges and wished them well in future endeavours.