Cohen Swanson

I am an aspiring nuclear engineer with a particular interest in small modular reactor designs. I am eager to pursue this field and am fascinated by its potential. I am eager, hardworking, and mechanically inclined, offering valuable contributions in any work environment. I have experience with programming, machining, electronics, fabrication, and mechanical design.

• BCHS Varsity Soccer 2019, 2020, 2021
• BCHS Film Club Founding Member
• BCHS Astronomy Club
• BCHS Music Club

• 2019 WIAA Division 2 Boys Soccer State Champion
• BCHS Honor Roll
• 2023 Fall Semester Dean's List
• 2024 Spring Semester Dean's List
• 2024 Fall Semester Dean's List

• AutoDesk Inventor Professional 2021 Certified User

In a group of six, peers and myself collaborated to develop a device capable of determining the power output of the UW Madison Test Nuclear Reactor from the measurement of its reactor core's light brightness output. This included in-depth brainstorming, fabrication, testing, and technical design. Utilizing CAD we developed detailed drawings for parts of our apparatus. Using the UW fabrication lab we optimized many pieces of equipment to solder, cut, sand, and encase our design. For electronics we deployed three lux sensors at varying angles to ensure statistical accuracy, wiring these, we then encased the sensors in Epoxy resin and employed an 8-pin wiring conduit to a Raspberry Pi 4b where data was processed and directly fed to our laptop for computational analysis. Ultimately, we designed an apparatus that was capable of accurately determining the power output of a Nuclear reactor simply by observing the brightness of the light irradiated from the reactor core (produced via Cherenkov Radiation). Our device recorded measurements within a 3% margin of error and was the most accurate device produced by UW Nuclear Engineering freshman students in the years of 2023 and 2024.