The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has named UF Ph.D. candidate Kaylee Cunningham to its 2026 Mechanical Engineering Watch List.
Launched in 2024, the annual Watch List spotlights early career professionals who have already left their marks on industry, academia and society. Nominees were evaluated by the Mechanical Engineering editorial team based on their demonstrated impact, strong potential for advancement in their field and engagement with the community advocating for the engineering profession.
Selected for her work in nuclear energy advocacy, Cunningham is a second-year Ph.D. candidate studying materials science at the University of Florida and a graduate research assistant in the Materials Science Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). She is a National Nuclear Security Administration Laboratory Residency Graduate Fellow, a Glenn T. Seaborg Actinide Science Graduate Fellow and a former National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
She holds a master’s degree in Nuclear Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from UF. Cunningham’s work is focused on engineering-scale computational modeling of ceramic and metallic actinide fuels. Cunningham was also awarded first-place in the 2026 LANL Engineer’s Week Engineering in 5 presentation competition, has been an invited plenary speaker at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, and is a recipient of the UF Dean Joseph Weil Engineering Leadership Award.
“I am truly honored and grateful to be recognized as an awardee on the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Engineers to Watch list,” Cunningham said. “This recognition means a great deal to me because it reflects not only my work but also the mentorship, encouragement and support I have received throughout my career. It inspires me to continue pursuing meaningful research and clean energy advocacy while contributing to the future of the profession.”
About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real-world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society.