QuickNotes | May 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Southern’s School of Engineering and Physics a Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) grant of $156,000 in early 2025 to further nuclear fusion research through curriculum development, bootcamps, and student internships.

Nuclear fusion is a cousin to nuclear fission, which is used as an energy source across the world. “Instead of fission—taking something heavy, such as uranium, and splitting it apart—we take something light, often hydrogen, and fuse it together to release energy,” explains Sean Walters, PhD, associate professor. “The technology has the potential to become a very efficient and controlled fission alternative.”

Under the guidance of Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the government’s largest multi-disciplinary research and development center, Southern partnered with several other universities, including Missouri University of Science and Technology, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Tech University, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and Tuskegee University in Alabama. Two Southern professors, principal investigator Walters and Vola Andrianarijaona, PhD, spearheaded the initiative.

As the team began developing the program, investigators found the need for an outline of objectives in this field. This need led to the creation of a curriculum providing instructors with a comprehensive list of concepts relevant to the study of nuclear fusion. 

Professors at each of the universities are creating curricula to be implemented free of charge in classrooms across the country. “At Southern, we’re planning to create short, two-week modules on specific fusion energy topics that can be inserted into any class,” Walters says. “That way, universities can introduce students to these new concepts without asking them to take extracurricular classes on top of their required course loads.”

Classes on nuclear fusion typically begin in graduate school, since the topic is highly specific for an undergraduate degree; however, larger universities have begun implementing specialty tracks in fusion engineering. Southern’s plans to introduce students to nuclear fusion keep the university on the cutting edge of education trends in undergraduate engineering programs.

Beyond curriculum development, the RENEW grant funds will also go toward guaranteed internships for Southern students, first at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and then at private companies focused on fusion energy. Angelina Castillo, senior physics and math double major, earned the first spot at the Oak Ridge lab in Summer 2025.

“Nuclear fusion has a lot of untapped potential, and I was very grateful and excited for the chance to intern in the field,” Castillo says. “I worked to find a process to recycle the fuel used in nuclear fusion, exploring ways to separate the different particles in the fuel into the parts that can be reused and the parts that can’t.”

Castillo has already furthered nuclear fusion through her work at Southern with Andrianarijaona, who has a long-standing partnership with the national lab in Oak Ridge stretching back to 2009. For the past five years, Andrianarijaona has coordinated the participation of Southern students on the laboratory’s beamline for ion-neutral collisions.

“Nuclear fusion is unstable in part because when particles fly out after the reaction, they have enough kinetic energy to melt the walls containing it,” Castillo explains. “Lining the walls with molecular hydrogen could absorb some of the particles’ energy, and the beamline we’re building will help us measure how much energy hydrogen can hold, helping to determine the viability of hydrogen-lined fusion chambers.”

- Chehalis Eno, ’26, adapted for QuickNotes

Before He ascended to Heaven, Jesus issued the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation,” (Mark 16:15, ESV). The Evangelistic Resource Center (ERC) at Southern follows this command by equipping laypeople to evangelize. That includes students who sign up and travel to Argentina, Costa Rica, Zimbabwe, and other international locations. Volunteers are each assigned to a local church where they preach daily sermons during a weeklong visit.

In November 2025, the ERC collaborated with the university’s Soul-winning And Leadership Training (SALT) program, which operates in partnership with It Is Written, to send nearly 90 students to speak at an equal number of churches in the Southeast Dominican Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. It was the largest student evangelism group ever sent out from campus during Thanksgiving break, and the efforts of students and local laypeople resulted in more than 500 baptisms.

For Carola Rizzo, junior health science major, the mission to the Dominican Republic was her second ERC trip, following one to Belize in spring 2025.

“I chose to go again because the first time was such a spiritual experience, and I wanted to keep the momentum going,” she says.

Organization for a trip begins long before students land at their destination. Raul Rivero, ERC director and associate director of Southern’s Pierson Institute of Evangelism and World Missions, explains: “We work with the host conference to certify men and women in local churches to give Bible studies to people in the area. That lays the groundwork so that community members are ready to hear our students preach.”

Students also receive training prior to traveling. During a weekend intensive, they become familiar with topic outlines, practice preaching, and gain tips on maintaining eye contact, using voice inflection, and working with a translator. Each is mentored on how to add personal stories to make the presentation materials more engaging.

The prospect of preaching can be intimidating for many, but the ERC’s sermon templates help students move past that barrier. Rizzo, who admits to struggling with public speaking, says her abilities have improved with each sermon.

“I truly believe the Holy Spirit is the One doing the talking when I preach,” she says. “I actually find a calm once I get up front.”

Topics for the speakers include the Sabbath, death and resurrection, baptism, and the Second Coming. At one church, Rizzo recalls that even believers were very receptive to hearing core Adventist beliefs again. However, her experience was not without challenges. During the culminating sermon about baptism, the electricity went out at her church.

“I knew the enemy was trying to get me,” she says, but her perseverance was rewarded when several members responded to her call for baptism.

On different parts of the island, dozens more SALT volunteers were preaching at other churches. Evie Rodriguez, sophomore nursing major, shares her experience of stepping outside of her comfort zone. Ever passionate about Bible work, she found the idea of preaching quite daunting.

“I felt like I had no qualifications,” Rodriguez says, “but I decided I wanted to go on the trip anyway—even if just for the experience of relying fully on God.”

Her first time preaching at Refugio de Cristo, a church on the island’s south side, was a Sabbath morning.

“The sermon did not go exactly as I wanted,” Rodriguez admits. “I stutter when I get nervous, and I was speaking in Spanish, which isn’t my first language. After I got back to the hotel, several other SALT students prayed with me. That’s when I realized that this isn’t about me. It’s about God! It’s totally up to Him, and He never fails! I returned to preach that afternoon with a completely different attitude.”

Rodriguez maintains connections with several church members she met and hopes to return to the Dominican Republic.

“Anyone who feels called to go on a mission trip should do it!” Rodriguez attests. “Even if you don’t think you’re the right person for the job, God will still do the impossible through you.”

- Chehalis Eno, ’26, and Isabella Dixon, senior English major

The psychology program within the School of Education, Psychology, and Counseling recently renovated its space to include a new student hub, a central area near professors’ offices where students can gather to collaborate on homework or catch up with friends. The project was made possible through Giving Day donations, and the space is dedicated in memory of Professor Ruth Williams.

Prior to being updated, the newly named Psych Pod functioned almost exclusively as a workroom for teaching assistants. Now, the space features couches, desks, a snack bar, and a screen with laptop connections.

“The new space feels so much homier,” reflects Melissa Mendes, senior psychology major. “Because we can be here just studying or grabbing a snack, it’s much easier to connect with professors as well as our classmates.”

The updated Psych Pod is dedicated in memory of Ruth Williams, affectionately known as “Mama Ruth,” who served more than three decades as a professor. She was the longest-acting director of the program (between 1991-1995 and 2000-2022) prior to her retirement in 2022 and passing the following year.

Cristy Pratt, ’04, associate professor, was taught by Williams during her undergraduate psychology studies at Southern and later recruited by the beloved advisor to join the teaching faculty. She notes that professors Tron Wilder, ’01, PhD, director of the psychology program, and Matt Tolbert, ’01 and ’05, PhD, were also students of Williams who benefited from her mentorship.

“She had a way with students and an ability to simultaneously connect with us and challenge us,” Pratt shares. “What a mentor! Students would line up outside her office to talk to her. 
Because she encouraged a sense of belonging throughout the department, we strive to continue the vision she instilled in us by fostering the same type of environment she created.”

Open to current students since August of this past school year, the Psych Pod was officially dedicated on October 28. Williams’ daughter and several other family members attended remotely alongside past faculty members who worked with Williams.

The project was funded entirely through donations given during the 2024 and 2025 Giving Days, The annual fundraising event at Southern provides opportunities for alumni, community members, employees, students, and other friends of the university to lend financial support for designated projects in specific academic and student support areas across campus, allowing gifts to be earmarked for improvements in a department near and dear to donors’ hearts. To learn more, visit southern.edu/givingday. 

A backpacking class excursion turned into a Good Samaritan opportunity last fall for students who were exploring a state park in Middle Tennessee.

Led by Assistant Professor Leslie Evenson, ’04, from the School of Health and Kinesiology, the group spent three days hiking and camping in scenic Savage Gulf State Park in Beersheba Springs while applying skills learned in the classroom. On a rocky path just under a mile from the trailhead, Southern’s group encountered an injured hiker with a lower leg injury that prevented him from walking any further. Four students stayed with the immobilized man while the rest continued to their campsite.

While sunset was quickly approaching, Jonathan Moats, senior nursing major; Tanner Moran, junior nursing major; Grayson Noble, senior electrical engineering major; and Eric Wolf, senior mechanical engineering major, assisted a park ranger in transporting the hiker back up the steep trail with an 800-foot elevation gain.

“It wasn’t doable alone,” Moats recalls. “The ranger only had a crutch and a splint, so we volunteered to help.”

The foursome supported the injured man on the flatter parts of the trail, trading off between helping bear his weight on their shoulders and lugging heavy hiking backpacks. The final stretch involved carrying him up 150 feet of rough rock and wood stairs. Less than an hour after departure, the students arrived back at the trailhead with the hiker and ranger.

“The students were very helpful with carrying out the injured hiker, and we thoroughly appreciated their efforts,” says Todd Childress, park ranger.

Noble and Moats give all the glory to God, praising divine providence.  

“God gave us the energy to get back up the trail with the victim plus the extra weight of the backpacks,” Noble says.

“It’s really cool how God put us there just at the right time,” Moats adds. “If we were a bit earlier, we never would have seen the hiker, and the ranger would have had to help him alone. If we’d been any later, we would have been struggling after dark. Even in the worst of situations, God still works things out just perfectly.”

-Isabella Dixon, senior English major