Naked Nuclear
Naked Nuclear
Podcast Description
Ever wondered how nuclear energy works or what advanced nuclear technology really means? Naked Nuclear breaks down complex topics like nuclear reactors, fuel types, and emerging technologies into simple, accessible conversations. Whether you're a curious beginner or an energy enthusiast, we make the science behind nuclear power easy to understand so you can launch your career in the clean energy future. Tune in to strip down the fascinating world of nuclear energy—one atom at a time.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers a range of themes including the science of nuclear reactors, the influence of indigenous perspectives on nuclear policy, and historical spotlights on influential figures, with episodes focused on topics such as the ethics of nuclear energy, the technical aspects of in-situ leaching, and the contributions of pioneers like Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson.
Ever wondered how nuclear energy works or what advanced nuclear technology really means? Naked Nuclear breaks down complex topics like nuclear reactors, fuel types, and emerging technologies into simple, accessible conversations. Whether you’re a curious beginner or an energy enthusiast, we make the science behind nuclear power easy to understand so you can launch your career in the clean energy future. Tune in to strip down the fascinating world of nuclear energy—one atom at a time.
In this Student Spotlight, we trace how childhood curiosity—sparked by Nikola Tesla and MythBusters—led Ryan Zerpa from building a Tesla coil in grade school to pursuing fusion research.
Ryan shares how he reframed a mostly-fission undergrad at Purdue Nuclear Engineering into a launchpad for fusion, what he learned working around pulsed-power experiments like Sandia’s Z Machine, and how Division I swimming forged the time-management and grit research demands.
We unpack his plain-language way of explaining fusion (from “why energy transition” to “how plasmas are tamed with lasers and magnets”), then close with his next step: a PhD in high-energy-density physics at the University of Rochester (LLE)—and his advice for students to ask relentlessly and feed their curiosity.
What you’ll learn
Why Tesla, fields, and hands-on tinkering pulled Ryan toward electromagnetism and fusion
How to turn a fission-heavy curriculum into fusion-useful skills (transport theory, fluids → plasmas)
What pulsed-power/HEDP experiments aim to do and why nanosecond timing matters
The student-athlete toolkit for research: discipline, recovery, and focused practice
A simple, audience-friendly way to explain fusion—and why storytelling in science matters
Practical advice for aspiring students: persistence beats perfection
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) — overview of the national lab and mission:
https://www.sandia.gov/ Sandia National LaboratoriesZ Pulsed Power Facility (“Z Machine”) — Sandia’s pulsed-power/HEDP platform:
https://www.sandia.gov/z-machine/ | About Z: https://www.sandia.gov/z-machine/about-z/ Sandia National Laboratories+1Purdue University — Nuclear Engineering — program home:
https://engineering.purdue.edu/NE Purdue EngineeringRyan’s PhD site — University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE)
https://www.lle.rochester.edu/homepage/
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