Sushil Dhakal
Physics graduate students Sushil Dhakal won Outstanding Poster for “Measurement of Neutrons from DD Reaction and Neutron Transmission from Iron Sphere” at the 2014 Stewardship Science Academic Programs (SSAP) Annual Review Symposium in Washington, D.C.
Drs. Carl Brune and Steven Grimes Professors of Physics & Astronomy, and physics graduate students Dhakal, Anthony Ramirez, and Cody Parker attended the 2014 Stewardship Science Academic Programs (SSAP) Annual Review Symposium Feb. 19-20, 2014, near Washington, D.C. All of the students presented posters at the meeting that were judged by committees of eminent scientists in the field.
Dhakal’s poster on “Measurement of Neutrons from DD Reaction and Neutron Transmission from Iron Sphere” was one of two chosen from among 25 entrants as the Outstanding Poster in the category Low-Energy Nuclear Science. Last year, Cody Parker received the same award for her poster in the same category.
Dhakal’s poster describes his work with Brune on the deuteron-deuterium (DD) neutron source measurement and the use of this neutron source to study the scattering of neutrons from an iron sphere. The iron sphere data will be compared to predictions from the evaluated data library ENDF/B-VII. This comparison will allow researchers to test and eventually improve the data library. Previous measurements have indicated larger-than-expected errors in this library, which may lead to the underestimation of material damage due to neutrons in nuclear reactors, a potential safety issue.
Dhakal is working toward a Ph.D. that focuses on the measurement of elastic and inelastic neutron scattering from iron spheres at different neutron energies.
“It’s a real honor to receive this kind of praise from the panel of nuclear scientists. Discussing our research with other attendees gives all of us the opportunity to interact and learn from one another,” he said.
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