A Critical Career
Health Physics Associate, Y-12 National Security Complex
Lexi Detweiler’s job is critical, to put mildly. At the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, she works on a team whose job it is to fuel the nuclear-powered United States Navy, to help maintain its nuclear stockpile, and to conduct nuclear non-proliferation work.
Lexi Detweiler (PHYS, ASPY, M.S. HP ’21)While growing up, Lexi Detweiler (PHYS, ASPY, M.S. HP ’21) listened to her father spout random tidbits of information from his various STEM-related careers. He’d gone from being an architect to working in information technology to artificial intelligence. They’d watch space shuttle launches together, and always seemed to be starting a new project together.
“He always had lots of cool facts up his sleeve,” Detweiler says, and that barrage of arbitrary information ironically caused her to focus on one field of science.
“Everything boils down to physics. It always felt like the most elementary science to me,” she says.
Now, just two years after graduating from Illinois Tech, Detweiler’s career has become critically important.
This story was featured in the spring 2023 issue of Illinois Tech Magazine. You can read the full story on the Illinois Tech Magazine website.