Hello, here are some things about me!
From nuclear physist to Materials/Imaging Scientist.
I first became interested in physics during my first year of undergrad at Florida State University. During an Astronomy 101 course I gradually became captivated by stars and how they generate their energy (nuclear burning). Luckily, FSU had a low energy nuclear program that studied the same nuclear reactions that power the cosmos. Before the end of that Astronomy class, I had switched majors and was ultimately set on the path I am now on.
After FSU I went on to grad school at the University of Notre Dame, where I studied and performed research under the guidance of Michael Weischer. Under Dr. Weischer's guidance I studied several important (α,p) reactions in Type 1 X-ray bursts.
In 2016 I took a post-doc in the P-27 (now P-3) Low Energy Nuclear Physics group, where I studied (n,α) reactions at the Weapons Neutron Research Center on flight path 15R
Somewhere during 2018 a very funny thing happened. I got very interested in nuclear energy and at the same time a staff scientist position opened up in the Materials Science and Technology division that used neutron absorption resonances to non-destructively map out isotopes in nuclear fuels. I was hooked! I am now considered more of a materials scientist (I guess!) where I use Energy-Resolved Neutron Imaging to study all sort of cool and interesting nuclear materials problems in the relm of nuclear engineering.
I like to run.
I got into running during graduate school where I ran several half and full marathons. It was not until I cam to Los Alamos that I realized how much I love trail running. And Los Alamos is by far the best place for trail running. Located right on the boarded of the Valles Caldra and Santa Fe Nation Forest I can jump out my front door and have access to over 50 miles of single track and forest roads. It's amazing! If you are looking for any Los Alamos suggestions, my top trail runs in the area are Canada Bonita (by the ski hill), red-dot to blue-dot (along the Rio), and of course Guage Ridge. There is even more epic trials in the surrounding areas, but there are just too many to list. If you want follow me on strava and see what some of these runs look like.
