Despite my enthusiasm for science, I was initially nervous about conducting research, and I was hesitant to apply for the Research Science Institute. I had always assumed that meaningful research was in the domain of Ph.D. professors and graduate students, far outside the reach of high school students like me. Given the complexity and dangers of nuclear energy, I thought that this would be especially true for the area in which I was assigned to work. However, while a professor’s research in general can be highly complex, there are often parts with which high school students can assist. Research certainly poses challenges and can be difficult, but I advise that you do not discount it simply due to lack of experience . . . Compared to fossil fuel-powered plants, nuclear reactors can extract a tremendous amount of energy from fuel through a process known as nuclear fission. A conventional nuclear reactor can provide roughly 360,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per kilogram of uranium used; in comparison, coal-fired plants generate about 3 kilowatt-hours per kilogram of fuel. However, an even larger amount of energy remains unused, as conventional nuclear reactors only use about 5% of their fuel (1). The remainder of the fuel along with radioactive products of fission � is disposed of as nuclear waste .

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