Seminar: An Opportunistic Ride Into New Radiation Measurement Technology

David Wehe, Professor University of Michigan

All dates for this event occur in the past.

Scott Lab, E141
Scott Lab, E141
201 W. 19th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

Abstract

We chronicle the century of developments in Ionizing Radiation Measurements that have led to the sophisticated instruments of today.  After a review of the underlying physics of the four pillars of radiation detection, we discuss how the needs of the problem-holder, i.e., the practitioner, interface with  both the researcher's interest and new technologies.  Rather than focus on a particular technology, we look at the field through the prism of applications to explore this delicate interplay.   We close by examining three technology breakthroughs that are exciting today’s radiation detection researchers.  

About the Speaker

Professor Wehe has been involved in ionizing radiation applications. Upon graduation from the University of Michigan, he taught physics at the United States Naval Academy, followed by work as a consultant to the electric power industry on instrumentation and nuclear power plant reliability. At the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he worked on instrumentation for the high flux isotope reactor and applying physics-based approaches for estimating physical parameters. As an officer in the U.S. Navy, he served in the logistics and R&D communities, and retired at the rank of Captain. At the University of Michigan, he has been teaching laboratory courses in Radiation Measurements, and performing research in radiation detector development and imaging. He has served as the Director of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, which included the 2-MW Ford Nuclear Reactor, and as the Director of the Neutron Sciences Laboratory, serves as the standing General Chairman of the long-running SORMA series of conferences, as a member of the U.S. Nuclear Forensics Science Panel, as a consultant to federal and industrial institutions, acts as editor for the archival journal Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics, and has authored approximately 200 papers.