Utah State Engineer | 2023

Engineering Alumni
Frontline Engineers: Safeguarding
Nuclear Facilities in Ukraine
Robert Olsen always knew he wanted to
work in nuclear engineering. He set himself
down a path to make his way to the top, and
today, he’s made it, working as a Nuclear
Security Officer for the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
Olsen graduated from Utah State University
in 2017 with a degree in environmental
engineering. He invested his time in clubs
and research that would help him attain
his goal of one day working in nuclear
engineering. This led him to join the
American Nuclear Society, which, thanks to
Olsen’s cheerful and upbeat attitude, had
its membership doubled over the course of
one school year.
His dedication and eagerness to work in
nuclear engineering landed him in the
U.S. Navy, where he served as a teacher
in Charleston, North Carolina. Soon after,
Olsen was chosen to fill a first-of-its-kind
position: Nuclear Emergency Response
Officer.
Through his experience working for the
Navy, Olsen was then able to get a job as a
Nuclear Security Officer, and that was his
entry into the IAEA.
“Learning I got the job with the IAEA was
a big deal,” Olsen said. “I was so excited to
realize that everything I had done before
led to this opportunity.”
Some of Olsen’s main responsibilities
include the development of tools and
technical guidance that assist border
crossing officials detect and retrieve
nuclear material that is out of regulatory
control. Most recently, he was selected to
observe the condition of Ukraine’s nuclear
facilities during the ongoing military
conflict with Russia. In this role, Olsen was
deployed to the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant
as well as the infamous Chernobyl Nuclear
Power Plant.
Americans were not originally allowed to
visit Ukraine due to tensions with Russia,
but Olsen was asked to come along because
to his knowledge in the nuclear field and
his fluency in the Russian language. The
IAEA needed to expand their “Continuous
Presence” initiative to ensure nuclear
reactors throughout the country remained
stable.
Although tensions may be high, a nuclear
power plant must remain safe and secure
during a war. One example of this took
place at the onset of the conflict. Olsen
spoke with personnel at a Ukrainian
nuclear facility who had been working with
technicians from Russia. When the war
broke out, neither group could trust the
other and the Russian technicians isolated
themselves in a railcar with their supplies.
As the fighting continued and the food in
the railcar dwindled, Ukrainian employees
at the plant delivered meals and water to
the Russians technicians until safe passage
to the nearest border could be arranged.
In the next three to five years, Olsen expects
to return to the United States with his wife
and three children. He plans to continue
working in the field of nuclear security.
“Your dream job might not exist yet, but
you can make it happen,” Olsen said. “Even
if there’s not a program for what you’re
interested in or specific to your career
passion, that shouldn’t stop you from
pursuing it. Find what you want to do and
work toward making it happen.”
Robert Olsen
IAEA Nuclear Security Officer
BS ’17 Environmental Engineering, Utah State University
MS ’18 Health Physics, Oregon State University
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