A Fresh Set of Eyes: Welcoming engineering intern Sebastian Simic

GEH intern Sebastian Simic has been passionate about the promising future of clean, nuclear energy since early on in his undergraduate degree. A chemical engineer and recent graduate from McMaster University’s Faculty of Engineering, the Toronto native served as an intern with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for 15 months, working in the utility’s Nuclear Waste Management Facility, Performance Engineering department. The OPG internship gave him the opportunity to work with system engineers, designing dataset schemas and developing aggregation techniques that allowed equipment tracking by the facility. His work also helped the facility improve equipment precision by 15 percent and identified causes of welding issues.

Along the way, Sebastian received trusted guidance. In high school, he learned valuable time management skills working with his father making fiberglass acoustic panels as well as competing in soccer and snowboarding tournaments. He also credits Dr. Jake Nease, McMaster University’s Department of Chemical Engineering undergraduate associate chair, for giving him sound advice. Dr. Nease, who was Sebastian’s undergraduate capstone project mentor, told him to be “vigilant,” a suggestion he has taken to heart as an engineering intern at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH).

What GEH projects are you working on?

I am part of the GEH chemistry and materials engineering team and conduct peer reviews of technical documents before they get approved. I am also developing reports for the BWRX-300 small modular reactor chemistry control program and leading chemistry research into the new BWRX-300 small modular reactor technology.?

Why do you want to work in the nuclear industry?

My previous internship with OPG exposed me to the responsibilities of engineers in the nuclear field, especially systems engineers. Also, clean energy -- like nuclear energy -- is something that I am very passionate about.?I really want to be a part of the nuclear movement and to be involved with something that will help Canada achieve net-zero carbon.

How did you learn about GEH and the engineering internship?

My college capstone project focused on designing and simulating a hydrogen power plant, so I did considerable research into GE gas turbines. That is how I first learned about GE. I heard about the internship through a LinkedIn post and then researched how GEH is expanding into Canada with small modular reactors. It all clicked together at that point so I thought it would be a good idea to see what GEH is all about.

What would you tell others about your GEH internship experience?

It has been great. I have been told that I am a fresh set of eyes, which is always good. Everyone on the team is welcoming and approachable. I'm learning a great deal. They have involved me in a lot of cool projects, and they have been very thorough in making sure that I have all the resources that I need to succeed.

What does the future hold for nuclear energy in Canada?

It is going to be the major form of energy production in the next few decades. It is very structured, highly organized and there are many safety protocols.