University Research Scientist Strives to Improve Nuclear Waste Cleanup

Mellissa Komninakis is a junior engineer at Florida International University's Applied Research Center at the College of Engineering & Computing.

MIAMI — The FIU News site recently highlighted a junior engineer at Florida International University’s Applied Research Center (ARC) and her research supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) mission to remediate nuclear waste.

After earning her doctorate in materials science engineering at FIU in 2025, Mellissa Komninakis now studies coatings and foams that can be applied to equipment before cleanup begins, helping reduce the release of tiny, but dangerous, radioactive particles.

“As these facilities age and are dismantled or prepared for future use, there is a risk that radioactive contamination can be accidentally released,” Komninakis says in the feature story. “Continued research in this field makes the cleanup efforts safer and more efficient, with lasting impacts. We are working to ensure that workers, surrounding communities and the environment are protected.”

ARC supports EM’s mission to accelerate risk reduction and cleanup. The center’s work includes developing robotic platforms and tools to better detect potential leaks in waste tanks underground at the Hanford Site in Washington state, developing hydrological models to predict the fate and transport of contaminants at Savannah River Site and developing digital elevation maps for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

Under a cooperative agreement, FIU also partners with EM for the DOE Fellows Program, an initiative designed to create a pipeline of minority engineers and scientists specially trained and mentored to enter EM’s workforce.

Read the full story about Komninakis here.

-Contributor: David Sheeley