Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/17/2024
1:55 pm - 2:55 pm
Location
Rhines 125
Categories
Abstract
After creating and testing the first atomic bomb, Los Alamos National Laboratory was instrumental in developing the US nuclear stockpile. In support of this mission, LANL scientists needed to invent a means for evaluating weapons performance.
Lacking readily accessible nuclear data during the early days of weapons testing, LANL developed an ingenious system to determine device yield through beta decay measurements of radionuclides separated from nuclear debris.
This talk will cover the development of this unique method, why it is still used today and how advances in technology have allowed this method to evolve in support of stockpile stewardship.
Bio
Daniel Meininger, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Dr. Daniel Meininger received his B.S. in Environmental Chemistry with a minor in Biology from Hartwick College (2008). He went on to complete a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Texas at San Antonio (2015).
Daniel was then given an opportunity at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a post-doctoral researcher in the Chemistry Division on the Radiochemistry Team, where he focused on developing techniques to measure new signatures in nuclear debris. Daniel was hired as a full-time staff scientist in 2018, and he continues to support national nuclear forensics capabilities. Through his support of both operational work and R&D, he has developed expertise in the areas of nuclear material dissolution, separations chemistry (fission products, actinides and stable isotopes), and analysis techniques (both radiometric and mass spectrometric).
Daniel is currently the LANL point of contact for the Integrated University Program Consortium for Nuclear Forensics, funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration.