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Nuclear engineering master’s student honored with Curie Fellowship

March 29, 2024 - by Kim Delker

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Ashley Machado

Ashley Machado, a graduate student in the UNM Department of Nuclear Engineering, has received the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme.

The fellowship will pay for Machado’s tuition, living costs and will provide a scholarship opportunity during the last semester of her master’s studies, either with the IAEA or elsewhere.

Machado is a master’s student at UNM. She was a UNM Presidential Scholarship recipient, receiving her bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering in 2023.

She is an Albuquerque native and first-generation American who selected UNM to be close to family, as well as the fact that UNM had a strong nuclear engineering program. She said she was first attracted to nuclear engineering because she originally wanted to pursue radiation oncology, but after spending time in the department, she changed her focus.

“Once being in the program, I loved all it entailed wholly and desired to grow to become a great nuclear engineer,” Machado said.

During her time at UNM, she has been involved in the American Nuclear Society and is the recipient of the Glenn and Ruth Whan Scholarship.

She is set to graduate in December. She is currently an intern at Sandia National Laboratories, where she works in nuclear waste disposal research and analysis. After graduation, she would like to continue at Sandia as a nuclear engineer.