Dr. Brienne Seiner has been a research scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory since 2010. She is a team lead within the Chemistry of Nuclear Materials group in PNNL’s National Security Directorate (NSD). She is a trained radiochemist with experience in inorganic complexation, organic synthesis, chemical separations, and isotope production. Her work at PNNL has focused on R&D projects in areas of nuclear non-proliferation detection and analysis in multiple sponsor spaces. She has served as the nuclear security S&T deputy portfolio manager in charge of internal capability coordination and communication related to PNNL’s work in nuclear science and is also the current mission focus area lead for nuclear science for NSD. In this role she works closely with multiple NSD sectors, sub-sectors, and line managers to develop strategy in new and existing areas, as well as help manage proposal calls and internal investments. Dr. Seiner is also the PNNL program area manager for the material production and detection portfolio within the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D (NA-22) program office. 

Dr. Schwantes is a senior scientist at PNNL with over 20 years of experience as a radiochemist working in areas related to the environment, super-heavy element chemistry and physics, astrophysical nucleosynthesis, science-based stockpile stewardship, and nuclear forensics. This work has included the development of novel methods for extracting and detecting radionuclides from fresh and marine waters, integrating these methods with compact, autonomous, in situ, detection systems developed in-house. He has authored or coauthored nearly 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, was part of the confirmatory team for the discovery of element 111 (subsequently named roentgenium), and led a team of researchers in 2009 that identified the oldest known reactor-produced plutonium in the world.

Dr. Gregg Lumetta leads PNNL's Actinide Science Team and served as the principal investigator for the Nuclear Process Science Initiative project, "Fundamental Understanding of Nucleation Processes to Assess Solution Stability and Phase Growth and Genesis," which sought to develop new methods for separating actinides from irradiated nuclear fuel. The project was completed in fiscal year 2018. He also plays a lead technical role in preparing plutonium oxide specimens for nuclear forensics applications. Dr. Lumetta has been responsible for planning and executing various applied and fundamental research projects related to radiochemical separations processes. He serves as a member of Technical Expert Group for DOE's Office of Environmental Management and is focus area lead for the Transuranic Recycle Technology Focus Area of the Sustainable Nuclear Power Initiative at PNNL.  Additionally, he served as PNNL technical lead for the Department of Homeland Security Threat Awareness and Characterization Thrust Area. 

Dr. Jaehun Chun was the Principal Investigator of the Nuclear Process Science Initiative project, "Correlation of Colloidal Interactions and Macroscopic Rheology in Concentrated Electrolyte Solutions," which was completed in fiscal year 2018. Since joining Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2008, Dr. Chun has been performing and leading research in various theoretical and experimental aspects of ‘structured’ fluids: suspension rheology, granular materials, and multiphase flows. He also has been working on related areas such as millimeter wave rheometry and the prediction of magnetic permeability of ferrites. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Yonsei University (Korea), a M.S. from KAIST (Korea) in electrophoresis/hydrodynamic fractionation, a Ph.D. degree in colloidal physics and physicochemical hydrodynamics from Cornell University, and a Postdoctoral Fellow from Princeton University in electrohy drodynamics and dispersion forces.

Dr. Richard Daniel served as Principal Investigator of the Nuclear Process Science Initiative project, "Particle-Filter Surface Interactions and Dynamics in the Presence of Cross-Flow," which was completed in fiscal year 2018. He has worked as a Research Scientist for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory since 2005 and currently serves the Fluid and Computational Engineering Group. Dr. Richard holds a B.S. in chemical engineering Florida Institute of Technology and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Washington.

Dr. Sebastien Kerisit is the Nuclear Process Science Initiative Principal Investigator of the LDRD Project Fundamental Insights into Gamma-Radiation Effects at Complex Oxide-Water Interfaces from First Principles Simulations. Dr. Kerisit holds a master's degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. in computational chemistry from the University of Bath, U.K. He is an expert in the development and application of atomistic/molecular simulations techniques and has extensive experience with molecular dynamics, kinetic Monte Carlo, and electronic structure simulations, including rare-event techniques. Dr. Kerisit has developed molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo computer codes including programs to simulate glass corrosion in aqueous conditions and charge transport in crystalline solids.

Dr. Dallas Reilly served as the Nuclear Process Science Initiative Principal Investigator for the project, Monitoring Diffusion of Actinide Daughters and Granddaughters in Metals for Chronometer Applications. While working for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Dr. Reilly has been involved with multiple projects, including work directly funded by NTNFC and other scope meaningful for the development of technical skills necessary for nuclear forensics. Dr. Reilly participated in the Development of Predictive Signatures project by evaluating and summarizing the previous modeling efforts and has worked to help develop the database of thermodynamic constants and Pitzer parameters necessary to operate the database. He holds a B.A. in chemistry from Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), a Ph.D. in Radiochemistry from the University of Nevada, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Radiochemical Analysis Group at PNNL. 

Dr. Ram Devanathan served as the Nuclear Process Science Initiative Principal Investigator for the Ion Implantation and Characterization of Epsilon Metal Phase Formation in Ceria project. Additionally, he is the Group Leader of PNNL's Reactor Materials and Mechanical Design group. He has more than 25 years of experience in materials research using multiscale computer simulations integrated with materials characterization. Dr. Devanathan also serves as the Sector Manager for Fusion Energy Sciences. He has mentored postdoctoral researchers, and graduate, undergraduate, and high school students through programs such as Young Women in Science, Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI), and the Mickey Leland Fellowship. Dr. Devanathan was selected as a Chair of the 2015 Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society. He is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and the American Chemical Society.

View Dr. Devanathan's detailed bio on the PNNL website.

Dr. Walter Luscher leads the Nuclear Process Science Initiative project, Characterization of Carbonaceous Surface Deposits on Irradiated Iron Aluminide (FeAl3) Coatings. A materials scientist, he joined PNNL in 2007 to support activities within the Nuclear Engineering & Analysis group of the Signature Sciences and Technology Division in the National Security Directorate. He is an active member of the Nuclear Materials Committee for The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society and a member of the American Nuclear Society  and American Ceramic Society.

Dr. Zheming Wang serves as principal investigator for the NPSI project, Determining Radiolytic Transient Intermediates and Interfacial Species and Their Roles in Aluminum Oxyhydroxide Reactivity. Dr. Wang is a Scientist V at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He joined PNNL as a postdoctoral fellow in 1995, became a research scientist II in 1998, moved through the ranks to senior research scientist positions, and then was promoted to Scientist V in 2013. He possesses more than 30 years of experience, with expertise spanning from actinide and lanthanide chemistry to multiple spectroscopy and microscopy disciplines, including sum frequency generation and second harmonic generation, time-resolved fluorescence, Raman and infrared/near-infrared. He has been actively involved in organizing workshops and symposiums for professional societies, and has served as a peer reviewer for many journals. Dr. Wang earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and master’s degree in analytical chemistry from Northwestern Normal University in Lanzhou, China, and went on to obtain his doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry at Florida State University under the guidance of Professor Gregory Choppin. He is a prolific communicator of his research findings, with well over 120 publications in his career.

Dr. Michel Sassi serves as co-lead of the NPSI project, Damage Mechanisms and Defect Formation in Irradiated Model Systems, working with the project’s principal investigator, Dr. Steven Spurgeon. Dr. Sassi is part of the Geochemistry group in PNNL’s Physical & Computational Sciences Directorate.