News Archive

Written by Sophie Brodish, Oregon State University, and Auden Oliveri, Reed College
Edited by Jillian Newmyer, Oregon State University

The Health Physics Society (HPS) Cascade Chapter Meeting was held at Reed College on 10 May 2024. We wanted to highlight Sophie Brodish and Auden Oliveri, two students serving in leadership positions in this chapter.

Sophie Brodish (she/they) is the president-elect of the HPS Cascade Chapter. She is a second-year graduate student at Oregon State University, focusing on neutron radiography and its application to post-irradiation examination of irradiated fuel. They are additionally passionate about mentorship, mentoring of a number of undergraduate students within her research group. She got into HPS through her advisor, who requested that she speak at the HPS meeting as a wee undergraduate years ago, and fell in love with the fascinating research that extends over a broad range of health physics disciplines. Her advice for students wanting to get involved is to look around at the bulletin boards around campus. They are a fantastic opportunity to discover events that get lost in the sea of incoming emails. And attend a chapter meeting! You never know who you'll get to meet (usually a group of incredibly cool people who collectively possess a wide range of career experiences).

Auden Oliveri (they/he) is a rising senior chemistry major at Reed College and a senior reactor operator at the Reed Research Reactor. They currently serve as the secretary of the Cascade Chapter of HPS, and as president of the Reed College Student Section of the American Nuclear Society. They are passionate about diversity in nuclear, science communication, and nuclear policy. They got involved with the Cascade Chapter after hearing about it while taking a course to become a radiation safety officer. Their boss encouraged them to present research at one of the meetings and they became secretary that same year. Their advice is getting involved in HPS by talking to staff members at your school—specifically if you don't have a health physics major—which gives you the opportunity to learn about more options and might even help you get a job. Also be confident in your skills and the perspective you bring to meetings. Have fun with it!

We thank Sophie and Auden for sharing their experiences within HPS and encourage other students to explore and get involved within their local chapter.

Sophie Brodish presents their research at the HPS Cascade Chapter Meeting.
Photo courtesy of Jillian Newmyer

Auden Oliveri (left) and Sophie Brodish (right) present the chapter updates at the HPS Cascade Chapter Meeting.
Photo courtesy of Jillian Newmyer