Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

May 4, 2015January 14, 2019

The International Commission on Radiological Protection: Organisation, Programme of Work, and Efforts related to the Fukushima Daiichi Accident

SPEAKER:

CHRISTOPHER CLEMENT

SCIENTIFIC SECRETARY

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION

DATE/TIME:

MON, 05/04/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

The mandate of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), established in 1928, is to advance for the public benefit the science of radiological protection, in particular by providing recommendations and guidance. This presentation provides a brief overview of the organisations involved in radiological protection internationally, ICRP as an organisation, the ICRP system of radiological protection, and the scope of the programme of work of the organisation. In addition, ongoing work in two novel areas will be described more fully: elaborating the ethical basis of the system of radiological protection, and ICRP efforts in relation to the Fukushima Daiichi accident.

About the Speaker:

Mr. Clement graduated from McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada) with a Master of Science degree in health physics, and is a Certified Health Physicist. He worked for the Canadian Government for two decades in various capacities related to radiological protection including: remediation and later regulation of contaminated sites, radiological counter-terrorism, and ultimately, as Director of Radiation Protection of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Canada’s federal nuclear regulator. He has served as co-chair of the Canadian Federal/Provincial/Territorial Radiation Protection Committee, was the Canadian representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Radiation Safety Standards Committee, and has represented Canada at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency’s Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health. In 2008 Mr. Clement left federal service to take on the full-time position of Scientific Secretary of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Established in 1928, ICRP is the foremost international organisation in radiological protection policy. It is an independent registered charity established to advance for the public benefit the science of radiological protection, in particular by providing recommendations and guidance on all aspects of protection against ionising radiation. The ICRP system of radiological protection is used by many other highly respected organisations including the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organisation, and the International Labour Organisation, and forms the foundations of radiological protection guidance, legislation, and programmes world-wide. As ICRP Scientific Secretary Mr. Clement is responsible for the overall day-to-day management of ICRP, and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of the ICRP. In 2012, he was also elected to the Executive Council (top governing body) of the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA).

April 27, 2015January 14, 2019

New Design Approaches for Improving Sustainability of Nuclear Energy

SPEAKER:

PROFESSOR EHUD GREENSPAN

DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

DATE/TIME:

MON, 04/27/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

Research activities ongoing in the Advanced Reactor Design and Fuel Cycle Analysis Group of UC Berkley will be reviewed. The group research thrust is to improve the sustainability of nuclear energy by increasing the utilization of the uranium and thorium fuel resources, and by minimizing the amount and toxicity of the high level waste, along with improving the economics, safety, and proliferation resistance of nuclear energy. Four innovative design approaches will be briefly described: (1) achieving sustainability using thorium fueled reduced moderation boiling water reactors (RBWR); (2) neutron efficient seed-and-blanket sodium cooled fast reactor cores that benefit from the breed-and-burn (once-through) mode of operation using existing technology and enable new promising fuel cycle options; (3) 3-D fuel shuffling in large breed-and-burn fast reactor cores for doubling their fuel utilization and reducing the radiation damage to the fuel cladding; and (4) an engineered autonomous reactivity control system for improved safety and economics of fast reactors. The presentation will focus on describing the unique features of these concepts and explaining the fundamentals behind the performance improvements they offer.

About the Speaker:

Ehud Greenspan is a Professor of the Graduate School at the Nuclear Engineering Department of UC Berkeley

April 20, 2015January 14, 2019

Security Dilemma in South Asia: Building Arsenals and Living with Distrust

SPEAKER:

BRIGADIER GENERAL FEROZ HASSAN KHAN (R)

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL

DATE/TIME:

MON, 04/20/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

*Please note that this talk will not be recorded*

India and Pakistan are engaged in a subtle strategic competition and a gradual arms race where technological innovations, military modernizations, and growing nuclear arsenals are raising the stakes for stability. India’s military investment is driven by a strategic rivalry with China, but the pace of development finds Pakistan increasingly vulnerable to exploitation; to reduce the level of disparity, Pakistan turns to China, and though willing and able to bolster Pakistan’s strategic capability, the assistance is not enough to enable Pakistan to meet multiple conventional force contingencies. Islamabad therefore depends even more on nuclear weapons to offset its force imbalance with India. In this classic security dilemma, where competition is intensifying and mutual distrust is swelling, the potential for an outbreak of military crisis in South Asia is increasing. The situation demands a structured peace and security architecture to initiate détente and ensure stability between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Without such an agreement, the consequences of an unchecked India-Pakistan security competition could reverberate beyond South Asia into the Asia- Pacific and Middle East regions.

About the Speaker:

Feroz Hassan Khan is on the faculty of Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey California where he is professor of security studies and international relations in the Department of National Security Affairs at the where he teaches He is a former Brigadier in the Pakistan Army, with experience in combat action and command on active fronts on the Line of Control in Kashmir and Siachin Glacier and Afghanistan border. He has served on numerous assignments in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He last served as Director Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs, in the Strategic Plans Division, Joint Services Headquarters. Khan had been a key contributor in formulating Pakistan’s security policies on nuclear and conventional arms control and strategic stability in South Asia. He produced recommendations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and represented Pakistan in several multilateral and bilateral arms control negotiations.

Brigadier Khan holds an M.A. International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), John Hopkins University, Washington DC. He has held a series of visiting fellowships at Stanford University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the Brookings Institution; Center for Non-Proliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and at the Cooperative Monitoring Center, Sandia National Laboratory. He also taught courses as a visiting faculty at the Department of the Defense and Strategic Studies, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.

He has widely participated in international and national conferences on strategic issues, international security, terrorism, nuclear arms control and non-proliferation issues. He is the author of Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistani Bomb (Stanford University Press, 2012)

April 13, 2015January 14, 2019

Time Correlated Particle Detection for the Assessment of Special Nuclear Material

SPEAKER:

LESLIE F. NAKAE, PH.D.

STAFF PHYSICIST, NUCLEAR AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES DIVISION

LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY

DATE/TIME:

MON, 04/13/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

The low natural background rates and the penetrating nature of neutron radiation makes neutron detection a good method for quantifying and accounting for large amounts of special nuclear material capable of neutron induced fission and fission chains. Almost from the beginning of the atomic age, the measurement of time-correlated neutrons has been used to detect and quantify fission and fission processes. Richard Feynman himself proposed a method, the grandfather of what is used today, to compare correlation rates of neutron flux in a fixed time window, to that which would be expected from a random neutron source, in order to prove that fission was taking place in early reactor experiments. Fission is one of the few natural processes that produces time-correlated neutrons, the others are spallation-type processes (e.g. (n,xn), cosmic induced background, etc). We will discuss the use of such methods in detection, material accountability, arms control verification and the assessment of unknown objects for nuclear material, topics of particular interest in the world today.

About the Speaker:

Leslie F. Nakae

Current Position:

Staff Physicist, Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Education:

Ph.D. Brandeis University, Waltham, MA (Elementary Particle Physics, January 1992)

M.S. Stanford University, Stanford, CA (Geophysics, June 1985)

M.S. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (Physics, Dec 1981)

A.B. University of California, Berkeley, CA (Physics and Applied Math, June 1980

Currently PI for numerous projects supporting various programs related to the radiation detection and assessment of Special Nuclear Materials. These programs involve arms control treaty verification and safeguards monitoring as well as nuclear threat assessment. Current projects include development of Detection and Analysis systems employing fast time correlated and spectral analysis of neutrons and gamma rays for Non-Proliferation Verification, Nuclear Safeguards and Nuclear Threat Assessment.

On staff at LLNL from 1994-present, Previous Positions: Computer Systems Analyst, Post Doctoral Researcher (SSC Lab), Radar Systems Analyst, Graduate Student Assistant (LBNL, FNAL).

April 6, 2015January 14, 2019

Doomed to cooperate: How American & Russian nuclear scientists joined forces to mitigate some of the greatest post-Cold War dangers

SPEAKER:

DR. SIEGFRIED S. HECKER

CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND COOPERATION, STANFORD UNIVERSITY

DATE/TIME:

MON, 04/06/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

Nuclear risks changed dramatically when the Soviet Union collapsed at the end of 1991. Suddenly the world was threatened more by Russia’s weakness than its strength. Never before had a country with the capacity to destroy the world experienced such dramatic political, economic and cultural turmoil. The United States and much of the world was concerned about loose nukes, loose nuclear materials, loose nuclear experts and uncontrolled nuclear exports. I will describe how scientists and engineers at the DOE nuclear laboratories joined forces with those at the Russian nuclear institutes for more than 20 years to avoid what looked like the perfect nuclear storm. I will also reflect on how today’s strained political relations between Washington and Moscow have curtailed that cooperation to the detriment of a safer and more secure world.

About the Speaker:

Siegfried Hecker is a professor (research) in the Department of Management Science and Engineering and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, (FSI) at Stanford University. Hecker was the co-director of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) from 2007-2012. He served as the fifth director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1986-1997. Hecker received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in metallurgy from Case Western Reserve University. His current professional interests include plutonium research, cooperative nuclear threat reduction with the Russian nuclear complex, global nonproliferation, the expansion of nuclear energy, and threats of nuclear terrorism. He is a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Among other awards, he received the National Academy of Engineering Arthur M. Bueche Award; the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Science Diplomacy, the Presidential Enrico Fermi Award, the Leo Szilard Prize, the Los Alamos National Laboratory Medal, the Department of Energy’s E.O. Lawrence Award, and the American Nuclear Society Seaborg Award.

March 30, 2015January 14, 2019

Science Basis for Design of High Performance Radiation-Resistant Materials in Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems

SPEAKER:

STEVEN J. ZINKLE, PH.D.

GOVERNOR’S CHAIR PROFESSOR
NUCLEAR ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE

DATE/TIME:

MON, 03/30/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

High performance structural materials are important for the satisfactory operation of existing fission reactors that provide nearly 20% of the electricity in the US, and are even more crucial for the viability of future advanced nuclear energy systems including proposed Generation IV fission and fusion energy reactors and space reactor systems. Key materials science aspects associated with operation in these extreme temperature, mechanical stress and radiation environments will be summarized. Of particular importance for structural materials in nuclear energy systems is the intense neutron displacement damage environment. Examples will be given of fundamental radiation effects research that has provided considerable insight into defect production and evolution mechanisms in materials.

Based on improved understanding of fundamental radiation effects in materials, three major approaches have emerged for science-based design of radiation-resistant materials: select materials with immobile vacancies at the desired operating temperature; use materials with potentially intrinsic high defect recombination such as body centered cubic alloys, amorphous materials or high entropy alloys; and design materials with ultra-high point defect recombination sinks (nanoscale precipitates, multilayers, etc.). These materials science approaches will be briefly reviewed. Opportunities to harness recent materials science advances including computational thermodynamics to produced tailored high performance alloys and additive manufacturing to enable near net shape fabrication of geometrically complex, high performance structural materials will be briefly discussed.

About the Speaker:

Steve Zinkle is a Governor’s Chair Professor in the Nuclear Engineering Department with a joint appointment in the Materials Science & Engineering Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Prior to October, 2013, he was Chief Scientist of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate and a Corporate Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He previously served as the director of the ORNL Materials Science and Technology Division from 2006 - 2010, and in a variety of research scientist and program management roles at ORNL. Much of his research has utilized materials science to explore fundamental physical phenomena that are important for advanced nuclear energy applications. His research interests include deformation and fracture mechanisms in structural materials, advanced manufacturing, and investigation of radiation effects in ceramics, fuel systems, and metallic alloys for fusion and fission energy systems. He received his PhD in Nuclear Engineering and an MS in Materials Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985. He has written over 250 peer-reviewed publications, is a recipient of the 2006 U.S. Department of Energy E.O. Lawrence Award, and is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), ASM International, the American Ceramic Society, the American Nuclear Society and AAAS. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

March 29, 2015January 14, 2019

ORNL-SINAP FHR CRADA Colloquium

SPEAKER:

DAVID HOLCOMB, PH.D., ORNL

KUN CHEN, PH.D., SINAP

DATE/TIME:

MON, 03/09/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

ORNL-SINAP FHR CRADA Colloquium

Joint Presentation by David Holcomb (ORNL) and Kun Chen (SINAP)

The Chinese Academy of Science’s (CAS) Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) and the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have recently entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to accelerate the development of fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactors (FHRs). The CRADA evolved from US–China interactions under a Memorandum of Understanding between the DOE and the CAS on Cooperation in Nuclear Energy Sciences and Technologies.

The CRADA supports and is funded by SINAP’s thorium molten salt reactor (TMSR) program. The overall purpose for SINAP’s TMSR program is to develop molten salt reactor technology to supply energy to the growing Chinese economy. As part of this effort, the TMSR program seeks to make use of China’s extensive reserves of thorium. Molten salt reactors generally fall into two types: dissolved fuel reactors in which the fuel is dissolved within the salt, and solid fuel reactors (aka FHRs) in which the fuel is a solid held within the reactor core. China is pursuing both dissolved fuel and solid fuel molten salt reactors. The CRADA is limited to solid fueled MSRs, but recognizes that nearly all of the technology developed will be applicable to dissolved fuel MSRs. The FHR test reactors currently being planned by CAS will use low-enriched uranium fuel.

FHRs have the potential to safely, reliably, and economically generate large quantities of power. The mission of the DOE-NE Office of Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) is to develop and refine future nuclear energy concepts that have the potential to provide significant safety and economic improvements over existing reactor concepts. In support of this mission, ART has been supporting research and development (R&D) on FHR concepts and technologies for the past several years. ART is currently supporting FHR development primarily through its nuclear energy university program (NEUP). ART programs often employ international collaboration to leverage and expand R&D investments.

Both nations agree that MSRs remain at an early phase of development characterized by scientific research and exploratory engineering and with significant amounts of basic information common to any design still to be established. Also, both nations recognize that developing a common understanding of the safety characteristics and consequent regulatory requirements of the reactor class would decrease the development risk.

The CRADA is organized into a series of phases. The specific tasks in each phase will need to be approved by both governments. The approved first phase tasks are 1) to commission and ORNL’s liquid salt test loop and use it to perform pebble bed heat transfer testing, 2) to perform component evaluation and testing, 3) to provide analysis software support, 4) to develop and participate in international FHR training activities, and 5) technical information exchange on FHR supportive technologies.

About the Speaker:

About Kun Chen:

Kun Chen received his bachelor degree in applied physics from University of Science and Technology of China in 2001, and Ph.D. in nuclear physics and scientific computing (minor) from Indiana University in 2006. After graduation, he worked for Argonne National Laboratory as a postdoc and then as a staff member for four years. He joined Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) in 2011 and served as the group leader and then the director of the Nuclear Safety and Engineering Division.

He has been working on cold neutron sources and imaging in Indiana University. While working in Argonne as a nuclear engineer, he is responsible for radiation shielding and criticality safety analysis of the nuclear material storage and transport in support of DOE EM’s SAR review program. He also developed technologies for nuclear material package surveillance using RFID at Argonne. After joining SINAP, he is leading the efforts of the nuclear safety research and licensing of the thorium-fueled molten salt reactors program (TMSR). He is developing new methods and techniques for safety analysis of the TMSRs. His other interests include radiation protection, shielding, radiation monitoring, criticality safety, waste management and environment protection.

About David Holcomb:

David E. Holcomb has been an Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) research scientist for more than 20 years. Dr. Holcomb is the Department of Energy (DOE) national technical area lead for fluoride salt cooled high-temperature reactors (FHRs). Dr. Holcomb’s technical specialties are in FHR reactor design and evaluation, reactor instrumentation and controls (I&C), radiation detector materials, and sensors for harsh environments. Dr. Holcomb also currently represents the U.S. and serves as co-chair of the technical steering committee for the Generation IV International Forum on molten salt reactors. Dr. Holcomb is the U.S. principal investigator on the cooperative research and development project between ORNL and the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) on FHRs.

Dr. Holcomb holds a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from The Ohio State University (OSU) (1992), an M.S. in nuclear engineering also from OSU (1990), and a B.S. degree in engineering science specializing in engineering physics from Colorado State University (1987). Dr. Holcomb has also served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in the Nuclear Engineering Department since 1995. Dr. Holcomb is a current member of the nuclear engineering program advisory board for OSU. He is also a member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), where he is a past chair of the Human Factors, Instrumentation, and Controls Division. Dr. Holcomb has served as technical chair (or co-chair) at ANS embedded topical meetings and for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) technical meetings. Dr. Holcomb also is a member of the advisory board for the U.S.-Czech Civilian Nuclear Power Cooperation Center. Dr. Holcomb has served as a member of the external review and assessment panel of SINAP at the behest of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. Holcomb also chaired the international preconceptual design review panel on the SINAP dissolved fuel molten salt reactor. Dr. Holcomb holds six patents and previously served as the chair of the ASTM International subcommittee on fundamentals of temperature measurement.

March 16, 2015January 14, 2019

Frontiers of Medical Physics Research at UCSF (and a Sneak Peek of the UCB-UCSF Medical Physics Program)

SPEAKER:

J. ADAM M. CUNHA, PH.D.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN RESIDENCE

DEPARTMENT OF RADIATION ONCOLOGY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO

DATE/TIME:

MON, 03/16/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

With branches in basic science research, diagnostic medical imaging, and therapeutic medical practice, medical physics is a unique field that brings together science, technology, and medicine on a daily basis. UCSF is at the cutting edge of medical physics research and clinical practice. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its use of both radiation and non-invasive imaging, medical physics shares many pedagogic and practical roots with nuclear engineering. This talk will introduce the field of medical physics to the UCB nuclear engineering community and present some of the exciting work being done at UCSF. In addition, because the shared roots between these two disciplines leads to a natural affiliation, the Department of Nuclear Engineering is partnering with the UCSF Department of Radiation Oncology to create a PhD track in medical physics. This talk will cover topics of practical importance to the nuclear engineering student interested in medical physics. Topic questions will include:

What is medical physics?
How is medical physics related to nuclear engineering?
What is the nature of scientific research in the field?
Which research avenues are UCSF faculty pursuing?
Can one pursue a career in medical physics with a nuclear engineering PhD?

About the Speaker:

Dr. Cunha received his PhD is experimental high-energy physics from the UCSB in 2006. After a year postdoc with the ATLAS group at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Dr. Cunha moved back to California to take a postdoctoral position in medical physics with the internationally recognized Prof. Jean Pouliot at UCSF. In 2009 Dr. Cunha joined the radiation oncology faculty at UCSF.

Dr. Cunha’s research has focused on invention and translation of new technology to the radiation oncology clinic. He is currently the co-chair of the AAPM robotic brachytherapy working group and also published work on using 3D printing in the radiation oncology clinic.

Dr. Cunha is an active member of the AAPM Working Group on Medical Physics Graduate Education and serves the UCSF Academic Senate on the Graduate Council Committee. He currently serves as the chair of the UCB-UCSF joint medical physics program steering committee, which is diligently working through the accreditation process to bring the program to fruition.

March 2, 2015January 14, 2019

Nuclear Power in the Broader Climate and Energy Debate

SPEAKER:

JESSICA LOVERING, M.S.

SENIOR ENERGY ANALYST

THE BREAKTHROUGH INSTITUTE

DATE/TIME:

MON, 03/02/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

Jessica Lovering will highlight the work she’s done over the past three years at the Breakthrough Institute - a paradigm-shifting environmental think tank - to engage the environmental community around the benefits of nuclear power and to understand the challenges nuclear power faces in the modern energy system. Her research focuses on innovation policy to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear power technologies as well as analysis of energy transitions and decarbonization more broadly to understand how nuclear power plays a major role in reducing pollution, sparing land, and modernizing economies. All of her work contributes to the broader Breakthrough Institute mission: “to accelerate the transition to a future where all the world’s inhabitants can enjoy secure, free, and prosperous lives on an ecologically vibrant planet."

About the Speaker:

Jessica Lovering is a Senior Energy Analyst at the Breakthrough Institute, a non-profit think tank based in Oakland, California. Her research focuses on nuclear power’s role in mitigating climate change and powering modern economies. In 2013, she co-authored the report How to Make Nuclear Cheap, which analyzed the potential of advanced nuclear designs to improve the safety and economics of nuclear power. Her analysis for the Breakthrough Institute has included research into national decarbonization scenarios, global energy trends, nuclear innovation, and the climate effects of nuclear power phase-outs. Jessica earned an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder, with a focus on energy policy. During her last year of school, Jessica created and taught a graduate course on nuclear energy.

February 23, 2015January 14, 2019

Low Energy Nuclear Physics Research at LLNL

SPEAKER:

PROF. DR. J.T. BURKE

NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS GROUP

NUCLEAR AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES DIVISION

LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY

DATE/TIME:

MON, 02/23/2015 - 4:00PM TO 5:00PM

LOCATION:

3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL

Spring 2015 Colloquium Series

Abstract:

The low energy nuclear physics program at LLNL consists of a myriad of accelerator based and table top experiments. Studies include nuclear structure, neutron induced cross section measurements, determination of cross sections using the surrogate reaction technique, nuclear-atomic plasma induced interactions and beta decay studies. In this seminar, I will provide an overview of our low energy nuclear physics research program at LLNL. These include efforts at the Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute, Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Hyperion, Hydra and NeutronSTAR detector systems will also be discussed in detail.