Research

My group is developing a method for collecting and purifying byproduct radionuclides from FRIB called “isotope harvesting.” Harvested isotopes will be used as research tools in other areas like nuclear medicine, biosystems radiotracing, and nuclear data for security applications.

Biography

I grew up in Okemos, Michigan, and have been fascinated with nuclear science since visiting the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at MSU as a teenager. I worked on high-precision beta spectroscopy as a graduate student, and then went on to isotope production for medical applications as a postdoc. I was fortunate to spend several years at the Technical University of Denmark as a scientist in applied nuclear physics and radiochemistry before returning to the Lansing area for a faculty appointment in 2016.

How students can contribute as part of my research team

Students in my group have an opportunity to bridge the cutting-edge nuclear physics technology at FRIB to other fields. This allows a broad definition of a PhD project and lets the students decide how deep into any subject they want to dive. The expectation for students in my group is that they will acquire a working knowledge of nuclear physics and at least one other topic, like medical imaging, detector physics, inorganic chemistry, or analytical chemistry. All viewpoints are welcome, and creativity is encouraged.

Scientific publications

• Isotope Harvesting at FRIB: Additional opportunities for scientific discovery, Abel EP, Avilov M, Ayres V, Birnbaum E, Bollen G, Bonito G, et al, J Phys G Nucl Part Phys 2019;46:100501.doi:10.1088/1361-6471/ab26cc.
• Half-lives of 132La and 135La, Abel EP, Clause HK, Fonslet J, Nickles RJ, Severin GW, Phys Rev C 2018;97. doi:10.1103/ PhysRevC.97.034312.
• 135 La as an Auger-electron emitter for targeted internal radiotherapy, Fonslet J, Lee BQ, Tran TA, Siragusa M, Jensen M, Kibédi T, et al, Phys Med Biol 2017;63:015026. doi:10.1088/1361-6560/aa9b44.