Event

MSE Seminar Series: Christopher M. Lavelle

Friday, October 4, 2013
1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
Room 2110, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Bldg
JoAnne Kagle
301-405-5240
jkagle@umd.edu

Aspects of Applied Nuclear Physics at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Christopher M. Lavelle
Applied Physics Laboratory
The Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory began its existence in service to US government during WWII. Operating secretly out of the Wolf Motor Company building in Silver Spring, Md, APL developed the variable time proximity fuze which played a decisive role in the war effort.

JHU/APL now has a greatly expanded role, providing an important center of knowledge, source of new technologies, and acts as a trusted agent in service to government sponsors. In particular, my work presently focuses on the rapid prediction and detection of neutron radiation in complex environments.¹ This talk will highlight recent collaborative efforts in a new approach to 3He replacement by researchers at the University of Maryland, NIST, and JHU/APL.

This unique approach² indirectly detects neutrons via noble gas excimers which form in response to ionization. The excimer is short lived, and emits detectable UV light as it dissociates. The challenges and opportunities of new materials³ and detector designs together with this technique will be presented.

Audience: Graduate  Faculty  Post-Docs