South Carolina State University News December 4, 2014 SC State “Sweeps” Major Awards at Regional Nuclear Science and Engineering Event The Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness presented a SC State University student and a professor its top awards during the organization’s signature event, the 23rd Edward Teller Lecture Series. Held on October 20 in Aiken, S.C., the event attracted a crowd of over 400 scientists, engineers, business and community leaders, elected officials and other advocates who support nuclear technologies. Orangeburg native Valerie Nwadeyi received the 2014 Robert Maher Memorial Scholarship, a $5,000 award. Nwadeyi, a junior nuclear engineering major at SC State, was recognized for her superior academic record. Nwadeyi, who boasts a 3.8 grade point average, plans to pursue a career in nuclear forensics. “I was very happy and honored to receive the Robert Maher Memorial Scholarship. It felt good to know that all my hard work really paid off, and it was nice to see that people acknowledged my work with this award. That was the most rewarding part,” said Nwadeyi. Dr. Zheng Chang, a professor of nuclear engineering at SC State since 2006, won the 2014 Fred C. Davison Distinguished Scientist Award. Chang was recognized for his outstanding research in nuclear radiation detection, including a published paper on the Japanese Fukushima accident and its impact in Orangeburg. He was also cited for being an outstanding mentor to his students at SC State, many of whom have gone on to major graduate programs. He is also currently the SC State Professor of the year for 2014. “The 2014 Fred C. Davison Distinguished Scientist Award recognized my achievements in education and research, on the collegiate level, in the nuclear industry. It specifically acknowledges the efforts I have made including undergraduate students in serious scientific research and for encouraging them to pursue academic excellence and professional careers in the nuclear industry,” said Chang. “I am humbled to accept this award because the significant progress achieved in the university’s radiochemistry and nuclear engineering programs is a product of team work. Without Dean Kenneth Lewis and the great contributions of my colleagues such as Dr. Musa Danjaji, Dr. Kenneth Okafor and April Hutton-Moorer, we could not be where we are today. So, this award in one that honors the collective work of faculty and staff in the nuclear programs who are committed to educating the next generation of leaders in this field,” he continued. Receipt of these two major awards is believed to be the first time that a university has captured both CNTA honors in the same year. “These awards demonstrate both the outstanding quality of our students and the outstanding quality of the faculty that teaches them. I am extremely proud to be associated with them as their dean and with this great university,” said Dr. Kenneth Lewis, dean of the College of Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology. SC State President Thomas J. Elzey was also recognized at the ceremony. The Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness is a nonprofit, grass-roots citizens' organization that educates the public about the benefits and risks of nuclear technologies and the Savannah River Site. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.