Krystin Stiefel
Experiment Safety Engineer Oak Ridge National Laboratory
“Safely Running In-Vessel and Gamma Facility Experiments at HFIR”
Abstract: The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is one of the highest flux reactor-based sources of neutrons for research in the world. The unique capabilities at HFIR are used to support missions in isotope production and materials irradiation. For example, isotopes are produced in-vessel for a variety of medical, industrial, and research purposes. Materials can be tested under an intense neutron environment in the reactor vessel or with high gamma doses in the spent-fuel gamma irradiation facility. Carrying out any of these projects at HFIR requires the collaboration of research scientists, engineers, technicians, and more. As part of the Nuclear Safety and Experiment Analysis group, I work with research teams to prepare and execute their isotope and irradiation experiments without compromising the safety of the reactor systems. These projects may involve feasibility studies, safety reviews, data analysis, and occasionally suiting up to go work in the reactor bay.
Bio: Krystin Stiefel is an Experiment Safety Engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor. She works with research groups to run experiments in isotope production and materials tests. Krystin obtained a PhD in nuclear chemistry from Michigan State University in 2018, where her dissertation project involved measuring fragments and neutrons from heavy-ion collisions produced at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Adrian College in Michigan in 2012.