Charlyne Smith, Ph.D. is currently a Distinguished Post-Doctoral Associate at Idaho National Laboratory. The Jamaica-born scientist made history when she became the first Black woman to earn a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Florida.
"I’m so honored to have made history as the first black woman to graduate with a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Florida on the day of Jamaica’s independence anniversary," she tweeted recently.
In 2019/2020, she spent time as a graduate research intern at France's École Polytechnique. She was also a select nuclear innovation boot camp participant at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency. The two-week boot camp equipped students and early-career professionals with skills essential to accelerate innovation in nuclear energy.
Previously at the Idaho National Laboratory, she worked as an advanced characterization and post-irradiation examination intern. Her role involved assessing the impact of fission gas bubble growth, radiation-induced creep, and recrystallization on the change in volume of fuel plates.
Charlyne also served as a Modeling Experimentation and Validation (MeV) Student at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The MeV Summer School provides early-career engineers and scientists with advanced studies to develop an understanding of the challenges facing nuclear energy advancement.
Earlier accomplishments include serving as a Thurgood Marshall College Fund scholar, and Vivian Burey Marshall student mentor. Through the STEM initiative, she met scholars and parents to ensure they are engaged in activities supportive of the initiative's goals. Charlyne also worked as an environmental engineering intern at the Savannah River National Laboratory in a research project funded by the United States Department of Energy.
In 2017, Charlayne earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Coppin State University, which she joined after earning a high school diploma from St. Catherine High of Spanish Town, Jamaica in 2012. During her undergraduate years at Coppin, she served as a chemistry and math tutor in the STEM Center.
In January 2022, Charlyne won the Jamaican Prime Minister National Youth Award in Academics. The award recognizes youth who have excelled and contributed to national development. In 2018, she earned a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which helps ensure the diversity of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.
Mi seh! Wi nuh dun but wi PhinisheD!
— Charlyne Smith, PhD (@charlyne_smith) August 10, 2021
I’m so honored to have made history as the first black woman to graduate with a #PhD in #NuclearEngineering from the #universityofflorida on the day of #Jamaica’s independence anniversary🇯🇲 #blackgirlmagic #ufgrad #NuclearEnergy #GoGators pic.twitter.com/KOtsNOoJ9z
