‘Rising Star’ prepares to advance nuclear through advocacy-driven leadership

While nuclear and fusion technologies are rapidly advancing, the future of clean energy also depends on leadership that empowers diverse perspectives.

Jessica Wysocki, a second-year PhD student in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics (NEEP), is leveraging her graduate school experiences to strengthen her leadership skills as she prepares to help drive the nuclear field forward. 

Underscoring her natural aptitude for service and leadership, Wysocki was one of just 40 individuals invited to attend the third annual NEA Global Forum Rising Stars Workshop this past December in Stockholm, Sweden. The workshop gathers and trains emerging female leaders, united by a shared motivation to improve the experience of women in nuclear workplaces. 

The program opened with the first of several “chaotic Swedish dinners.” Wysocki describes arriving in Sweden excited—if a bit sleep-deprived—only to be swept into a Viking tavern where reindeer heart was the star dish of the evening. Another memorable dinner took place seven stories underground in the blue-lit reactor hall at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, where the group was serenaded by traditional Swedish Christmas carols. 

As unique as those experiences were, they reflected the program’s greater purpose of fostering cultural exchange—a particular draw for Wysocki, who was eager to learn about leadership from diverse global perspectives.

“I have the passion for leadership, but maybe not all of the skills that are needed yet,” she says. “Just like every other skill you build in your career, it takes practice.” 

As one of the youngest participants, Wysocki benefited from hearing the perspectives of women in later stages of graduate school or already launching their professional careers. While she is used to conferences dominated by American and European attendees, this workshop brought together women from all around the world. 

“Hearing about the obstacles they faced to get to where they are was humbling,” she says. “Their families don’t want them to pursue a career in nuclear—they have absolutely no one in their corner. I face obstacles as a student in America, but people here generally believe in you and want you to succeed.”

Support was a major factor for Wysocki as she considered graduate school. She was drawn to her current research group in part because of the thoughtful leadership of Assistant Professor Ben Lindley. 

“I could tell he was open-minded about different backgrounds and needs in a workplace,” she says.

She is grateful for advisors who take time to reflect and make meaningful changes to improve group culture—something she notes is not always guaranteed. 

“Women can feel unwelcome in nuclear workplaces,” Wysocki says. 

These challenges range from lack of representation to subtle biases to workplace structures that fail to accommodate caregiving responsibilities and nontraditional career paths. Without intentional leadership, these barriers can push talented individuals out of the field. 

Workshop discussions emphasized the proven benefits of collaboration among individuals with diverse perspectives, as well as the importance of creating environments where those perspectives are valued. Reaping the benefits of diverse thinking requires not just inviting people in, but also making room for different methods and needs. 

“People have different ways of doing things, and I think that is one of the beautiful things about science,” she says. “Scientific breakthroughs happen when people don’t do the obvious or normal or expected thing.” 

Inviting women and other underrepresented groups into the nuclear field is not simply a matter of hiring, but of building cultures that actively support them. The workshop highlighted the role that leaders like Wysocki can play in advocating for women’s needs. 

“Much of what we feel about gender in the workplace might be obvious to us as women, but to actually change perspectives, you need to advocate with factual information—something people can’t take away from you,” she says.

Participants also learned how to advocate for themselves. One session explored gender dynamics in salary and benefits negotiations, noting how women are particularly susceptible to imposter syndrome. The training worked to dismantle those false perceptions and equipped participants with effective negotiation strategies. Better prepared to advocate for herself and others, Wysocki is eager to apply what she has learned during her remaining years in graduate school. 

“In many ways, grad school requires you to practice the skills you will take into your career, so I view the next couple of years as an opportunity to sharpen that iron and prepare to become a leader,” she says 

Her definition of leadership centers on amplifying unheard voices and fostering collaboration. While the widespread and urgent push for clean energy solutions naturally encourages collaboration in the nuclear industry, she believes there is still room to grow.

“Nuclear is a field where everyone is motivated towards a common goal, but we need to continue lifting each other up and bringing different skill sets together to make this happen,” she says. “That requires leadership.”

Equally important, she notes, is ensuring people are not driven away. Bringing advanced nuclear and fusion energy systems to fruition will require a large and skilled workforce. Even as interest in nuclear careers grows, the field cannot afford to alienate potential talent. That’s why Wysocki values creating spaces where communities can openly discuss challenges that might otherwise feel “taboo.” 

Wysocki helps lead the NEEP Graduate Student Association with several of her peers. The group recently took action to address student concerns surrounding the department’s qualifying exam process by surveying students, compiling the data, and presenting their findings to the faculty, opening the door for constructive dialogue and change.

“We want to make the transition less rocky for future students where it can be controlled,” she says. “The only way to do that is by sharing your experiences and listening to others’ experiences.”

Wysocki’s own transition into graduate school coincided with Hurricane Helene. She recalls the emotional turmoil of watching communities in her hometown of Blacksburg, VA and surrounding areas endure the storm. 

“I was a mess,” she says. “Seeing how socio-economically disadvantaged communities are already being impacted by climate change and natural disasters made me realize how urgently we need to fix this. It can be hard in a scientific field so dominated by policy—you feel the urgency, but there are so many road blocks.”

She notes that the largest setbacks are not the science or technology, but rather policies that invoke fear or escalate costs. Although she originally planned to pursue a career in engineering at a national laboratory, she is now considering roles in nuclear policy and academia. 

“I want to do whatever makes the highest impact in nuclear energy because I want it to happen,” she says. “I want to see these climate effects decrease.”

Whether she ends up in science, policy, academia, or some combination of all three, Wysocki is poised to lead the nuclear community forward, advocating for the needs and contributions of her peers to give nuclear energy its best shot at becoming a cornerstone of clean energy solutions.

Cover image: Rising Stars at the networking dinner held in KTH’s Reactor Hall. Image courtesy of KTH.

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