Van Zile Joins The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab

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The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (OSU-NRL) features a small staff of 5.5 positions now that Matthew Van Zile has joined the team.

When Van Zile was a Nuclear Engineering graduate student at The Ohio State University, he assisted in several research projects including high temperature irradiation testing as well as taking a major role upgrading the fast neutron beam-line facility and developing specialized instrumentation for reactor experiments. Van Zile also served in the United States Navy as a reactor electrical technician and training coordinator before enrolling at Ohio State. His experience made him a perfect fit for the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory’s Research Associate opening.

“The NRL’s growing influence in nuclear research, as evidenced by numerous DOE projects and partner research with national labs, led to our need to expand our staff. We are thrilled to have found a candidate with Matt’s knowledge and experience,” said Sr. Associate Director Andrew Kauffman.

Van Zile’s time as a student included time as a student intern at NRL, which led him to ultimately change his major and pursue Nuclear Engineering. With his solid classroom and real-world engineering experience, Van Zile is poised to make an impact right away on the NRL’s service. The Ohio State University Research Reactor features large-volume dry tube facilities, making it an ideal facility for heated radiation experiments, which is important for nuclear research.

With his solid classroom and real-world engineering experience, Van Zile will be a key part of projects utilizing heated irradiation facilities, which is one of NRL’s specialties.

Matthew Van Zile headshot
Matthew Van Zile

As the only operating research reactor in the State of Ohio, the NRL is a unique teaching and research laboratory that delivers high quality service to its customers and excellent instruction and research opportunities to nuclear engineering students. In 2017, the DOE designated the NRL as a partner facility of the NSUF program, allowing awarded researchers, often in collaboration with other laboratories and industry, to perform DOE mission-supporting research at the NRL at no cost to users.