New Brazilian Buckeyes to Watch

In this series, the Brazil Gateway will be featuring new Brazilian scholars and students who are joining the Buckeye family. Vinicius Zanardo Rodrigues is an energy engineer from the Federal University of Grande Dourados and will be a PhD student studying nuclear engineering.

My name is Vinicius Zanardo Rodrigues, energy engineer from the Federal University of Grande Dourados and now a PhD student in nuclear engineering at The Ohio State University. My personal dream has always been to contribute to the development of a green energy source for human needs, and due to this goal, nuclear energy has seemed to me as one answer to this necessity. I am sure that Ohio State will provide me with all the tools needed to achieve my dream.

In 2020 and 2021, I started to put into practice my dream and ambition to study in the United States by learning about the process of applying for graduate school and how to put myself and my personality on the same level or above the international competition. It was a difficult period of adaptation, but today I received the honor of becoming part of Ohio State’s family in the following fall and years.

Under the supervision of my advisor, Carol Smidts, I will work and collaborate in the Reliability and Risk Laboratory, managing the state-of-art studies to develop advanced instrumentations, control, and safety for nuclear power plants in the United States and around the world. Ohio State will be my home for the next five years, and I intend to continue having the great experiences that I have been receiving from people at Ohio State.