- Justin Borrero received the 2026 Barbara Stull Graduate Student Award from the Society of Applied Spectroscopy for his research.
- Kyle C. Hartig nominated Borrero for the award due to his excellent work and collaboration in Hartig’s Optical Science and Nonproliferation Group.
- Borrero plans to continue supporting national security research with the Air Force Research Laboratory after graduation.
Justin Borrero, a Ph.D. candidate in nuclear engineering, has won the 2026 Barbara Stull Graduate Student Award from the Society of Applied Spectroscopy, known as SAS.
Open to full-time graduate students from institutions around the world, the SAS distinction is awarded annually to two recipients whose research demonstrates outstanding promise in spectroscopy, a field that uses light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation to identify and analyze materials. Borrero was one of this year’s two honorees, alongside a graduate student from Ohio State University.
Borrero completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering at the University of Puerto Rico. After pursuing different research opportunities, he decided to explore academia. He applied to a wide selection of universities but decided to pursue his doctorate in nuclear engineering at the University of Florida.
“I’ve always wanted to study nuclear engineering, and that’s been a thing I’ve always said since my first year of college,” said Borrero. “On the island, there was no nuclear engineering, career or even a curriculum.”
Once Borrero began his journey at UF in August 2022, he immersed himself in the curriculum, attended Florida football games and joined his now-advisor Kyle C. Hartig’s, Ph.D., Optical Science and Nonproliferation Group. Borrero was “sold” on nuclear forensics the moment he learned about the field through Hartig’s background.
“Justin has developed into exactly the kind of scientist the nuclear forensics community needs: technically rigorous, intellectually independent and motivated by problems of real national importance,” said Hartig.
Another key individual that inspired Borrero to explore forensics research and a career in the federal government was his brother, an active-duty military member who was deployed to Afghanistan when Borrero was 20 years old.
“At that moment, I was like, ‘You know what? I would like to support that effort. I am not physically determined like my brother, but I am mentally determined,” said Borrero. “Dr. Hartig’s group kind of opened that door and provided me an opening to just get close to that area.”
Hartig submitted a nomination letter to SAS for Borrero to receive the Barbara Stull Graduate Student research award for his commitment to advancing laser-based spectroscopy techniques in emergency responses.
“His work is advancing how we use atomic spectroscopy and laser-produced plasmas to understand material signatures, reactive chemistry and particle formation in environments relevant to nuclear fireballs and forensic analysis,” said Hartig. “Just as importantly, he brings the humility, professionalism, curiosity and disciplined communication that are essential in national security work, where technical excellence must be paired with sound judgment, accountability and respect for the mission.”
While Borrero heads into the final year of his doctorate program, he envisions the future of his research of optical techniques and laser-based spectroscopy applying to other areas. As a Department of War SMART Fellow, Borrero will work with his sponsored facility, the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, following graduation.