Flynn Darby wins Towner Prize for distinguished academic achievement
The college-wide award honors graduate students demonstrating exceptional research, leadership and academic performance.
Flynn Darby, a PhD candidate in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences (NERS), has received the Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement from Michigan Engineering. The college-wide award honors graduate students demonstrating exceptional research, leadership and academic performance.
Darby was honored for his innovative research advancing nuclear reactor safety and monitoring through gamma-ray signal measurements of fission chain kinetics. His work enhances the ability to make standoff measurements and provides critical (pun intended) data for the development of next-generation nuclear technologies. In addition to his research contributions, Darby was also recognized for his commitment to mentoring fellow students and helping to develop new course offerings within the department.
“I am honored to receive the Towner Prize!” said Flynn/ “My research and teaching during my PhD to earn this award would not be possible without the wealth of support from the NERS department and my advisors.”
Darby contributed significantly to help establish the first year of Professor Sara Pozzi’s “New Scintillators” course in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Under the guidance of Dr. Michael Febbraro, Darby transferred plastic scintillator preparation techniques for use in the Michigan Scintillator Laboratory on the NERS campus.
“Flynn Darby has contributed significantly to my research group as a mentor and advocate for junior students,” said Pozzi. “He dedicates time to help develop these junior researchers to ensure that they are successful. He is well-deserving of this recognition.”
Darby has collaborated with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) as a graduate research assistant since 2021. He is currently working to publish his measurements of “Measurements of Uranium Subcritical and Critical” (MUSiC) during a month-long campaign led by LANL at the Nevada National Security Site.
He earned his BSE and MSE degrees from NERS. As an undergraduate, he was an active member of the Michigan Triathlon Club and the American Nuclear Society, and he served on the NERS Undergraduate Student Advisory Board.
Darby’s recognition affirms both the rigor of his scientific contributions and his leadership within the NERS community.