Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Katie Mummah, PhD

@nuclearkatie.com

9.5K followers 2K following 1.2K posts

Nuclear engineer. nuclear: reactors, history, waste, nonproliferation, humor. "Tells uranium's life story". Lives in New Mexico. Formerly UW-Madison & UIUC. Outdoors when I'm not working. Views mine alone, likes are not endorsements. she/her

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · Jan 29

Defended my PhD in nuclear engineering

A picture of two people in front of a projector screen, which is showing the first slide of a PhD defense titled "State-Level Nuclear Fuel Cycle Simulations for International Safeguards Applications". On the right is Katie, wearing a suit and the smile of relief that comes with finishing your defense, and next to her is her advisor Paul Wilson

A picture from the audience of Katie mid-presentation, pointing at the screen. On the screen is a slide showing the new nuclear material packaging capability and how it allows simulations to track individual nuclear materials of different types

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 6h

We love any boat stuck news, even about boats that were stuck 110 years ago

s. eek smith 👻 @sesmith.lol · 17h

Who else wants to read about polar disasters.

Famed polar exploration ship Endurance not as strong as legend held, researcher says

Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's crew famously survived after the Endurance became stuck in ice in 1915. A researcher says the ship was ill-equipped for the voyage and Shackleton was aware.

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 4d

I would like to do a freaky friday with my dog where she gets to be a scientist for a week and I can nap on the couch and in the grass

A picture of a Labrador in a staged laboratory setting surrounded by beakers and graduated cylinders. The dog has safety glasses and is pouring something that says DANGER into a mug. There is big white text overlaid that says I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 7d

Much fluff!!!

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 7d

Wow, a cornucopia of delightful animals!!!

My pittie mutt doesn't blep much but she is also very cute when she sleeps

A brown dog is sleeping on a white blanket with a white wall behind her. The image is focused on her head, resting sideways on the blanket, snoot pointed at the camera. She looks very peaceful and one of her ears is falling off the side of the bed which is very cute

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 7d

Omg my dog would have devoured the chocolate. Good dog!!

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 7d

I am having A Time right now, please send pet pics (don't forget alt text!)

And it's not even related to the shutdown, that's just fun on the side

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 7d

Huh, that's interesting! I promise I'm not gonna leave nuclear engineering for law stuff, though I do have to read laws and regulations occasionally (I'm not very good at it)

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 7d

Oof double whammy! At least it's over, now you get to do all the other hard stuff

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 7d

Was this your qualifying exams? Least favorite part of all of grad school for me

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 7d

Woohoo!

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 7d

@nathanryan.bsky.social is this anything

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 8d

I need to make it clear that I do also stan the belted kingfisher, which is the people's choice for a new UIUC mascot. But hey, no bad ideas in a brainstorm

A picture of a belted kingfisher sitting on a wooden post. It is a squat bird with a beak that seems huge for its size. The bird is literally blue-gray and orange (rust)! University of Illinois colors! And it has a little mohawk and cute short tail. Very adorable

A stylized kingfisher mascot, with the orange and blue accentuated to highlight the UIUC school colors. Adopt this mascot you cowards!

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 8d

The fighting pumpkins!!! They're even orange!

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 8d

New mascot idea for the University of Illinois just dropped

chigeek.bsky.social @chigeek.bsky.social · 15d

The annual pumpkin display at the entrance of Governor Pritzker’s personal residence on Astor Street. He is the pumpkin king. Illinois produces the most pumpkins, including canned, than any other state in the U.S., twice as many as the next five states combined.

My photo taken last year of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s personal residence on Chicago’s Astor Street showcasing an impressive pumpkin and gourd display.

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 8d

I do not envy the task of dreaming up ways to get Trump to stop saying something, any individual thing in particular

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 8d

Sure, and I think it might be good if that had worked but it's going to become old real fast if he keeps snickering about the two n-words instead of just... not doing that

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 8d

If someone calls nuclear "the n word" around me I'm simply going to cut them out of my life entirely

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 8d

Hegseth would've fired General Leslie Groves for his appearance if he could have

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d

Hegseth: "It all starts with physical fitness and appearance. If the secretary of war can do regular hard PT, so can every member of our joint force. Frankly, it's tiring to look out at combat formations and see fat troops. Likewise, it's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals."

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 8d

Hm, I would have had so many things to say about this when I was a student 🤐

Reposted by Katie Mummah, PhD

Nick Kodama 🌲👻 @nickkodama.bsky.social · 8d

The two most frequent things Trump says about nuclear weapons:
- Nuclear warming is a threat
- Tee hee it's the N word

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 9d

If we're RETVRNing to unproven quack science as a nation, we might as well update the radium water to modern pumpkin-cesium-137 spice lattes.
That's my tag line, anyway

Reposted by Katie Mummah, PhD

JEEMS, dog servant @jamesfrye.bsky.social · 9d

polonium spice latte

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 9d

Otherwise you have to hand-blend in the radionuclide powders, which is such a pain!

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 9d

Great news for my forthcoming line of radioactive pumpkin spice drinks
www.food-safety.com/articles/107...

After Radioactive Shrimp Recall, FDA Detects More Cs-137 in Indonesian Spice Import

FDA detected radioactive isotope Cesium-137 (Cs-137) in a shipment of Indonesian cloves, due to heightened surveillance efforts initiated after radioactive shrimp was detected in an Indonesian import....

www.food-safety.com

Katie Mummah, PhD @nuclearkatie.com · 10d

Seems bad
"DOE reels from unprecedented staff loss"
www.latitudemedia.com/news/report-...

Report: DOE is in the midst of a historic labor shortage

A recent analysis shows that even offices managing nuclear and fossil energy projects don’t have enough staff to disburse funds.

www.latitudemedia.com