Highlighting Women in Trade and Craft Careers

Abigail Bowman is College Partnerships and Pipeline Development Lead for the Apprenticeship Program at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). She has a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Augusta University (2017), and a Bachelor of Arts in middle grades Education, Math, and Language Arts from Covenant College (2003). With 16 years of experience in teaching, coaching, and leadership, Bowman began employment at SRNS in 2019 as an instructor at Savannah River Site’s Savannah River Tritium Enterprise (SRTE), which encompasses all activities related to tritium. In addition to leading the apprenticeship program at SRTE, she is qualified as a training designer/developer, instructional specialist, Material Test Facility (MTF) laboratory technician, Metallurgical Lab Life Storage operator, and Emergency Preparedness drill controller at a nuclear facility. She is currently pursuing qualification as a Reservoir First Line Manager in tritium.

Jennifer Jackson is K-12 Education Programs Manager at Idaho National Laboratory. Jackson has nearly 20 years of experience as a teacher and educational leader in Idaho, including as the director of curriculum and professional learning for Idaho Falls School District 91, where her duties included designing and implementing multidisciplinary K-12 curriculum, developing strategic partnerships with state and national educational organizations, and a variety of other policy and management responsibilities. INL’s K-12 STEM program focuses on student outreach, teacher professional development, family engagement and more. Jackson also interfaces with Idaho tribes, community colleges and technical schools on behalf of INL. These partnerships with STEM-focused organizations allow INL to help eastern Idaho foster an integrated STEM program that will enable the best possible opportunities for Idaho students.

Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar is the associate dean of the Idaho State University (ISU) College of Science and Engineering, associate professor of nuclear engineering and a senior reactor operator at ISU’s Aerojet-General Nucleonics nuclear reactor, commonly known as the AGN-201. Presently, she coordinates the nuclear engineering curriculum at ISU and teaches core graduate and undergraduate courses. She also performs nuclear materials research and is involved in regional and discipline accreditations, ISU’s international program development, and reactor administration.

Mary Lou has published internationally and is recognized as principal investigator of productive research projects incorporating nuclear material irradiation and characterization and the associated management of radioactive material.

She has collaborated on a variety of projects and proposals in university, national laboratory, and international research environments. This includes her work as a joint appointee scientist at Idaho National Laboratory where she led the Simulation Institute for Nuclear Enterprise Modeling and Analysis fuel-cycle modeling project. She also worked at Argonne National Lab with various duties associated with pyroprocessing spent fuel and was also a high school science and math teacher in the U.S. and U.K.

Mary Lou has a B.S. in chemistry from Cedar Crest College and received an M.S. in environmental engineering along with her Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear fuels and materials development, spent fuel processing, and waste form development.

An ANS member since 1992, Mary Lou was on the ANS Board of Directors from 1996-1999. She is a member of the Accreditation Policy & Procedures Committee; Development Committee; Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division; Education, Training and Workforce Development Division; the Special Committee on Government Relations; and is the faculty advisor for the ANS Idaho State University Student Section. She is an active member of the Idaho ANS Local Section and has served on numerous organizing committees for local and national meetings.

In 2011 and 2014, she was the recipient of ANS Presidential Citations in addition to the Landis Public Communication and Education Award in 2014.