Current Position

Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences
Director, NNSA Actinide Center of Excellence (ACE)

Education

Ph.D., Environmental Engineering & Earth Science, Clemson University
M.S., Environmental Engineering & Earth Science, Clemson University
B.S., Chemistry, Radford University

Research Interests

Research in the Hixon group focuses on several aspects of transuranic (e.g., neptunium, plutonium, americium) chemistry, such as aqueous environmental geochemistry, environmental fate and transport, and aspects of national security. The group uses a variety of wet chemical, instrumental, and modeling techniques to study the transuranic elements across spatial and temporal scales and to predict their behavior in both natural and engineered systems. These elements pose a long-term environmental concern due to their toxicity and long half-lives. Therefore, this research is important to protect public health and safety, protect the environment, promote national defense and security, and support a sustainable nuclear fuel cycle.

Key Words

Actinides, Environmental Aging, Fate and Transport, Kinetics, Mechanistic Understanding, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Forensics, Nuclear Materials, Radiochemistry, Sorption, Surface-Complexation Model

Relevant Energy Publications

1. Hastings, Ashley M., Debmalya Ray, WooSeok Jeong, Laura Gagliardi, Omar K. Farha, and Amy E. Hixon. "Advancement of Actinide Metal–Organic Framework Chemistry via Synthesis of Pu-UiO-66." Journal of the American Chemical Society 142, no. 20 (2020): 9363-9371.
2. Ray, Debmalya, Jing Xie, Jacob White, Ginger E. Sigmon, Laura Gagliardi, and Amy E. Hixon. "Experimental and quantum mechanical characterization of an oxygen-bridged plutonium (IV) dimer." Chemistry-A European Journal 26, no. 36 (2020).
3. Said, Meena, Charlotte W. Eng, Amy E. Hixon, and Naomi E. Marks. "Quantifying surface roughness on UO2 fuel pellets using optical techniques." Forensic Science International 316 (2020): 110470.
4. Baumer, Teresa, and Amy E. Hixon. "Kinetics of neptunium sorption and desorption in the presence of aluminum (hydr) oxide minerals: Evidence for multi-step desorption at low pH." Journal of environmental radioactivity 205 (2019): 72-78.
5. Sadergaski, Luke R., Meena Said, and Amy E. Hixon. "Calcium-facilitated aggregation and precipitation of the uranyl peroxide nanocluster U60 in the presence of Na-montmorillonite." Environmental science & technology 53, no. 9 (2019): 4922-4930.

Department Website
Group Website