Through mentorship, technical guidance, and applied community projects, ISEC helps students bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world engineering experience. Under the leadership of President and founder Stephanie Walsh, students have contributed to projects involving renewable energy systems, nuclear feasibility studies, and community-focused energy solutions. 

Keegan Oldham

“My capstone project focused on designing an alternative energy storage device for renewable energy systems. Because renewable energy sources often depend heavily on batteries for storage, our team wanted to explore a solution with lower environmental impact while still effectively storing energy. We developed a prototype that used raised mass for energy storage and presented our work to the Idaho chapter of ASME.

With Stephanie as a mentor, we received guidance throughout the entire engineering process, including design, calculations, prototyping, testing, and professional presentation. Her mentorship not only strengthened our project, but also helped prepare us for future engineering careers.

That experience expanded further when I later worked with ISEC on the feasibility study for SMRs and microreactors for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. While I had worked on student teams before, seeing firsthand how ISEC managed projects, delegated based on individual strengths, and brought together complex technical work into a final deliverable gave me experience that the classroom alone could not provide.

Being part of these projects solidified my passion for the nuclear energy industry and its potential to help meet future energy demands.”

Keegan Oldham
Idaho State University, Mechanical Engineering