August 25, 2006 Vol. 77, no.
2F
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| PEG SKOPRINSKI PHOTO |
Professor Minute with NE professor Per Peterson
NE professor Per Peterson received his B.S. from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 1982 and his M.S. and Ph.D. — all in ME — from UC Berkeley in 1986 and 1988, respectively. His research focuses on problems in energy and environmental systems, including inertial confinement fusion, advanced light water reactors, high level nuclear waste processing and nuclear materials management. Peterson also manages the UC Berkeley Thermal Hydraulics Research Laboratory.
What first inspired you to go into engineering?
In high school, in the late 1970s, I became very interested in the question of energy and the environment. I saw that engineers worked to solve these problems, and that is what convinced me to study mechanical engineering.
To date, what has been the most memorable moment in your career?
For me, there is not a single most memorable moment in my career. At the top of my list is receiving my doctorate in the same graduation ceremony as my wife-to-be, Sherry, who received her master’s degree, and our life together since then. And also every time I have had the opportunity to meet people who have had major impacts in their careers, from Nobel prize winner Glenn Seaborg to respected academics in engineering and the social sciences, to national laboratory directors and business leaders.
If you had a few extra hours, what would you do?
I enjoy getting outside and taking time to bike, hike or ski. I just had the opportunity to climb mountains with a good friend in Italy on a recent trip. That’s one of the best ways to re-equilibrate and re-energize.
What should engineering students make sure they do at Berkeley before they graduate?
Decide what they think is the most important thing to change in the world and use their opportunity at Berkeley to learn the skills they will need to help affect this change.
What is one thing you would like to learn how to do?
I constantly search to learn more effective tools and models for understanding the behavior of complex systems in all of their dimensions.
If you would like us to feature your favorite professor, please email his or her name to engnews@coe.berkeley.edu
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