College of Engineering

March 25, 2025 BATON ROUGE — LSU and Battelle Energy Alliance, the company that manages Idaho National Laboratory (INL), have agreed to collaborate in areas of mutual interest, including cybersecurity and advanced nuclear technology, under a memorandum of understanding, or MOU. The MOU to be signed on Friday, March 28 aims to accelerate technology and talent development in Louisiana for the nation. This is the first formal partnership between a national lab and a university in Louisiana.

LSU Petroleum Engineering senior Jackson Dreffs is just a few months away from graduating and moving to Houston where he will start his new job as a wells engineer with BP (formerly British Petroleum). For the past four years at LSU, Dreffs has known what he wanted to do and will start off making a handsome salary in the oil and gas industry, which is also bringing him closer to his hometown of McKinney, Texas.

Jyotsna Sharma, research specialist and field engineer, has built a career in petroleum engineering and higher education. As a successful woman in a male-dominated field, she is currently an associate professor in the LSU College of Engineering, using her industry experience to shape the next generation of engineers, as well as inspiring women in STEM fields.