Lee A. Bernstein

Professor
Nuclear Data Group
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Ph.D. Nuclear Physics, Rutgers University, 1994
M.S. Physics, University of Maryland, 1990
B.A. Physics, Rutgers University, 1988

Contact

Biography

Lee Bernstein is the Nuclear Data Group Leader at LBNL and a professor in the UC-Berkeley Department of Nuclear Engineering. He leads the Bay Area Nuclear Data Group, whose mission is to meet the nuclear data needs of the applied and basic science and engineering community while training the next generation of nuclear scientists and engineers in the process. He has over 25 years of experience in experimental nuclear physics with a specialization in measuring low-energy nuclear properties and cross sections.

Lee has led domestic and international experimental campaigns on GB to TB data sets using high-resolution charged-particle, neutron and photon spectrometers. Prior to coming to Berkeley in 2016 he was a staff scientist and group leader at Lawrence Livermore National Lab where he helped lead the development of detectors to measure the properties of High Energy Density plasmas at the National Ignition Facility.

He is a fellow of the American Physical Society “For work developing novel methods of determining neutron-nucleus cross sections via high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy, the early development of surrogate ratio method, and the study of nuclear processes in high energy density plasmas at NIF”. Lee teaches courses in nuclear physics and policy and has served as the principal academic advisor for 17 Ph.D. and M.S. students.

Research Interests

Honors, Awards, & Professional Activities

Honors and Awards:

Fellow of the American Physical Society (Division of Nuclear Physics) “For work developing novel methods of determining neutron-nucleus cross sections via high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy, the early development of surrogate ratio method, and the study of nuclear processes in high energy density plasmas at NIF”– September 2015
Recipient of 3 LLNL Physical and Life Science Directorate Awards – Outstanding mentoring, Post-doctoral mentor and External Leadership – September 2015
Directors Science and Technology Award for the Development of Gaseous and Solid Radchem at the National Ignition Facility – October 2014
Physics Division Award for Teaching Nuclear Physics in HED Plasmas – October 2014
Recipient of the Defense Programs Award of Excellence for Measurement of the 239Pu(n,2n) Cross Section238Pu, 2001.
American Physical Society Committee on Membership. 2001-2003. Chair 2002-2003.
Recipient of the DOE Defense Program Award for Measuring the 239Pu(n,2n)238Pu Cross Section for En< 20 MeV using GEANIE at LANSCE. – 2001

Professional Activities:

Recent Invited talks/Conference Chairmanships

“Inelastic Neutron Scattering from Baghdad to Berkeley”. Cyclotron Institute Colloquium, Texas A&M University. March 8, 2017.
“Nuclear Data Needs for Isotope Production”. Workshop on Isotope Production. Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute. March 9, 2017.
“Nuclear data activities and neutron science in the SF Bay Area”, 2nd Annual Peder Sather workshop on nuclear data needs for the Thorium Fuel Cycle. Berkeley, CA (12/8-10/14).
“Introducing the UC-Berkeley component of the Bay Area Nuclear Data (BAND) Program”, Nuclear Data Week, Brookhaven Natl. Lab., Upton NY. (11/6/14)
Statistical Properties of Nuclei Workshop. European Center for Theoretical Physics, Trento, Italy July 11-15, 2016 (http://www.ectstar.eu/node/1662).
International Nuclear Physics conference, Bruges Belgium September 11-16, 2016 (http://www.nd2016.eu).
Nuclear Data Needs and Capabilities for Applications, LBNL (5/27-29/15). Lead Organizer and whitepaper editor.http://bang.berkeley.edu/events/NDNCA
The 2nd conference on laser energetics and laser astrophysics (CLE 2015)”, Yokohama, Japan (4/22-24/15). – Member of the International Advisory Committee. http://www.ile.osaka-u.ac.jp/cle
Joint Division of Nuclear Physics/Division of Astrophysics Long-Range Planning Meeting, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, (8/24-26/14) – Session Convener.
“Nuclear Symmetries and Stewardship Science: The Research of Jolie Cizewski”, Lawrence Berkeley Nat’l Lab, Berkeley CA (5/1-2/14). – Workshop Co-Chair. http://www.phys.utk.edu/joliefest
“The 15th international symposium on Capture Gamma Ray Spectroscopy and Related topics”, Forschungzentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany (8/25-29/14). Member of the International Advisory Committee. http://www.hzdr.de/db/Cms?pNid=3132
“Nuclear Fusion from NIF to the stars”. 248th Meeting of the American Chemical Society, San Francisco CA (8/10-11/14). – Convener

Selected Publications

Beam-induced back-streaming electron suppression analysis for an accelerator type neutron generator designed for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. Cory Waltz⁎, Mauricio Ayllon, Tim Becker, Lee Bernstein, Ka-Ngo Leung, Leo Kirsch, Paul Renne, Karl Van Bibber. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Volume 125, Pages 124–128 (July 2017).
White paper on nuclear astrophysics and low energy nuclear physics Part 1: Nuclear astrophysics. Almudena Arcones, Dan W. Bardayan, Timothy C. Beers, Lee A. Bernstein et al., Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, Volume 94, May 2017, Pages 1–67.
A recoverable gas-cell diagnostic for the National Ignition Facility. A Ratkiewicz, L Berzak Hopkins, DL Bleuel, LA Bernstein, K van Bibber, WS Cassata, BL Goldblum, S Siem, CA Velsko, M Wiedeking, CB Yeamans. Review of Scientific Instruments 87 (11), 11D825 (2016).
Magnetic moment and lifetime measurements of Coulomb-excited states in 106Cd. N Benczer-Koller, GJ Kumbartzki, K-H Speidel, DA Torres, SJQ Robinson, YY Sharon, JM Allmond, P Fallon, I Abramovic, LA Bernstein, JE Bevins, HL Crawford, ZE Guevara, AM Hurst, L Kirsch, TA Laplace, A Lo, EF Matthews, I Mayers, LW Phair, F Ramirez, A Wiens, et al., Physical Review C 94 (3), 034303 (2016).
Nature of low-lying electric dipole resonance excitations in 74Ge. D Negi, M Wiedeking, EG Lanza, E Litvinova, A Vitturi, RA Bark, LA Bernstein, DL Bleuel, S Bvumbi, TD Bucher, BH Daub, TS Dinoko, JL Easton, A Görgen, M Guttormsen, P Jones, BV Kheswa, NA Khumalo, AC Larsen, EA Lawrie, JJ Lawrie, SNT Majola, LP Masiteng, MR Nchodu, J Ndayishimye, RT Newman, SP Noncolela, JN Orce, P Papka, L Pellegri, T Renstrøm, DG Roux, R Schwengner, O Shirinda, S Siem. Physical Review C 94 (2), 024332 (2016).
Completing the nuclear reaction puzzle of the nucleosynthesis of 92Mo. GM Tveten, A Spyrou, R Schwengner, F Naqvi, AC Larsen, TK Eriksen, FL Bello Garrote, LA Bernstein, DL Bleuel, L Crespo Campo, M Guttormsen, F Giacoppo, A Görgen, TW Hagen, K Hadynska-Klek, M Klintefjord, BS Meyer, HT Nyhus, T Renstrøm, SJ Rose, E Sahin, S Siem, TG Tornyi. Physical Review C 94 (2), 025804 (2016).
Review of the National Ignition Campaign 2009-2012, J.D. Lindl et al., Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, #12, 129902 (2014).
Photon Strength Function at Low Energies in 95Mo, M Wiedeking, LA Bernstein, JM Allmond, MS Basunia, DL Bleuel, JT Burke, P Fallon, RB Firestone, BL Goldblum, R Hatarik, M Krtička, PT Lake, AC Larsen, I-Y Lee, SR Lesher, S Paschalis, M Petri, L Phair, ND Scielzo, Nucl. Data Sheets 119, p. 258 (2014).
Radiochemical determination of Inertial Confinement Fusion capsule compression at the National Ignition Facility, D.A. Shaughnessy et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85 (6) 063508 (2014).
Relative light yield and temporal response of a stilbene-doped bibenzyl organic scintillator for neutron detection. JA Brown, BL Goldblum, LA Bernstein, DL Bleuel, NM Brickner, JA Caggiano, BH Daub, GS Kaufman, R Hatarik, TW Phillips, SA Wender, K van Bibber, J Vujic, NP Zaitseva. Journal of Applied Physics 115 #19, 193504 (2014).
Low Energy Neutron Measurements in High Energy Density Plasmas using the National Ignition Facility. L.A. Bernstein et al., Plasma and Fusion Research: Vol. 9, 4404101 (2014).
Scissors resonance in the quasicontinuum of Th, Pa, and U isotopes. Guttormsen, M; Bernstein, LA; Görgen, A; Jurado, J; Siem, S; Aiche, M; Ducasse, Q; Giacoppo, G; Gunsing, F; Hagen, TW; Larsen, AC; Lebois, M; Leniau, B; Tenstrøm, T; Rose, SJ; Tornyi, TG; Tveten, GM; Wiedeking, M; Wilson, JN. Physical Review C89, #1, 014302 (2014).
Constant-temperature level densities in the quasicontinuum of Th and U isotopes. Guttormsen. M; Jurado, B; Wilson, JN; Aiche, M; Bernstein, LA; Ducasse, Q; Giacoppo, F; Görgen. A; Gunsing, F; Hagen, TW; Larsen, AC; Lebois, M; Leniau, B; Renstrøm, T; Rose, SJ; Siem, S; Tornyi, T; Tveten, GM; Wiedeking, M, Physical Review C88.; #2, 024307 (2013).
Determination of the deuterium-tritium branching ratio based on inertial confinement fusion implosions, Kim, Y. et al., Physical Review C85, #6, 61601, (2012).
Indirect (n, gamma) cross sections of thorium cycle nuclei using the surrogate method, Wilson, JN; Gunsing, F.; Bernstein, LA; Bürger, A.; Goergen, A.; Guttormsen, M.; Larsen, AC; Mansouri, P.; Renstrøm, T.; Rose, SJ; Physical Review C85, #3, 34607, (2012).