I'm the Assistant Reactor Officer. For the most part my job is a lot of administration, everything from ensuring qualifications are recorded, making sure boards are scheduled, and ensuring junior officers meet their timelines for their professional nuclear engineering examination. I also serve as the senior supervisor for the watch in the propulsion plant spaces to make sure that safety and the watch standing principles are followed. I interact with all of the different agencies that oversee naval nuclear power to make sure they get all of the documentation that they need. I make sure that we are running our program according to the various instructions that govern how naval nuclear power is supposed to be run and it's well documented.
Naval nuclear power is technically demanding and technically challenging in a lot of regards. Unfortunately, what I think happens is, a lot of young minorities shy away from the math and science fields for whatever reason; maybe they don't feel they'll do well or they're not encouraged to pursue those avenues. The sky is the limit. I would love to see a program developed that prepares our young minority students and women as well, to do well and maybe consider naval nuclear power as a profession and as a career.
