Jasmine Vujic: The First Female Chair of a Nuclear Engineering Department
November 06, 2020
Jasmina Vujic was the first woman to join UC Berkeley’s nuclear engineering faculty in 1992, and in 2005 became the first female chair of a nuclear engineering department in the nation. She is renowned as a top researcher in the field of nuclear energy systems, numerical methods and biomedical applications of radiation. She is also the principal investigator and founding director of the Nuclear Science and Security Consortium. The $50M+ multi-institution initiative aims to train the next generation of nuclear scientists and engineers, as well as engage academic communities in collaborative research and development with national laboratories in support of the nation’s nonproliferation mission.
Vujic was born and raised in Serbia, where she has been involved in educational initiatives. She is a member of RadWatch, a Berkeley project that provides data on radiation to the public. From 2009-11 she helped lead the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization and has worked as a consultant for such companies as General Electric, Transware and VeriTainer.
As an internationally recognized expert in nuclear science and technology, Vujic is a member of various domestic and international advisory boards and nuclear reactor safety boards. She is a fellow of the American Nuclear Society and has been a member of several committees of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences.