2025 Congressional Fellows reflect on their terms

Each year, the American Nuclear Society awards the Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship to two members. Those recipients then spend a year in Washington, D.C., contributing to the federal policymaking process by working in either a U.S. senator's or representative's personal office or with a congressional committee.

It has been nearly six months since the 2025 Congressional Fellows provided their midterm updates on their time on the Hill. Now, as their fellowships draw to their close, Jacob Christensen and Mike Woosley are looking back on what they accomplished, what they learned, and much more.

Christensen: Departing from Brigham Young University-where he has been pursuing his master's degree in

chemical engineering, Christensen joined the office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.). Like most-if not all-Congressional Fellows, his work extended beyond nuclear, and he found himself assisting on the senator's portfolios in defense, energy, and foreign policy.

This is not the first time that a fellow has commented on the wide-ranging scope of the role. In a July 2025 webinar in which five past fellows discussed their experiences on the Hill, 2024 Congressional Fellow Emily Caffrey marked the interdisciplinary nature of each staffer's role as the most unexpected aspect of her time in Congress. This is perhaps best evidenced by the work both Caffrey and 2020 Congressional Fellow Bradley Williams (who stayed in the policy sector after his service as fellow) did with the ADVANCE Act, a piece of legislation passed in June 2024 that impacted the whole energy sector. Because legislation can often take years from initial drafting to introduction to eventual passage into law, multiple fellows have had the opportunity to contribute to bills like the ADVANCE Act.

Christensen also spoke on the general speed of Congress in reflecting on his experience, saying, "People often complain about the glacial pace of the federal government, and the need to reduce or streamline the federal bureaucracy. While I can't speak for the executive branch, my experience has been that the legislative branch is less of a bureaucratic obstacle course than expected." He added, "Rather than existing bureaucratic or regulatory hurdles, the speed at which Congress operates is determined more by political capital, public sentiment, and the personal thoughts of congressional members."

In October, ANS's Congressional Fellows had insights on how the longest-ever government shutdown would impact the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, as well as the broader DOE and NRC complexes.

It was a time of furloughs, uncertainty, and confusion at the federal level. According to Christensen, "Working through the government shutdown was strange for a few reasons. Because all the movement toward ending the shutdown occurred at the member-to-member level, there wasn't much that staff could work on to try and resolve the issue. The Senate remained in session, but most of the Senate work being done during the shutdown focused on nominees, not legislation."

As Christensen concludes his fellowship and completes his education at Brigham Young, he is now seeking a more technical opportunity to complement his scientific background. Nonetheless, he emphasized that "this year has been invaluable for helping me understand the broader contexts and frameworks within which the nuclear enterprise operates."

Woosley: Woosley holds a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Virginia; has conducted research at

Idaho, Oak Ridge, and Los Alamos National Laboratories; and has served as chief operating officer or chief financial officer of three successful venture-backed start-ups in the digital technology space.

He joined the office of Sen. Chris Coons (D., Conn.), becoming a member of the office's energy and environment team. There, his work, like Christensen's, was wide-ranging. Some highlights include working on bills pertaining to clean concrete, Taiwan's energy security, 123 Agreements, and the NRC; attending meetings, writing memos, and providing briefs for highly technical and energy-related topics; connecting with the Senate Environment and Public Works and Energy and Natural Resources Committees as a nuclear resource; and interfacing with government affairs staffers at X-energy, Oklo, General Matter, and Radiant.

One highlight for Woosley was working on the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act, which he described as "a really good bill that Congress should have passed a long time ago" (it has been in consideration since 2008). The bill allows the NRC to skip a public licensing hearing when no one requests it, saving thousands of hours of prep time on the parts for both the NRC and the licensee. According to Woosley, former NRC Chair David Wright requested that this change be enacted by Congress both times he testified in 2025. Woosley helped Coons's team reintroduce the bill in 2025 and is hopeful that it will finally get passed this year.

As for the future, Woosley has not eliminated many options. He is open to spending another year in Congress, joining the cohort of new nuclear developers with whom he interfaced during his time on the Hill, or working with a nuclear nongovernmental organization.

"It's been a rich, highly productive, highly enriching, and highly educational time. I've enjoyed it immensely. I hope that it leads, with my experience in nuclear, in growth company management, and now in regulated industry policy, to opportunity to continue to contribute to the burgeoning industry."