Current Position

Professional Specialist and Concurrent Professor, Department of Physics and Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory

Education

Ph.D., Physical Chemistry, University of Nebraska
B.S., Chemistry, Lamar University

Research Interests

Prof. LaVerne's main research concerns the examination of the energy loss, charge and other properties of ionizing radiation and to elucidate the fundamental radiolytic decomposition of molecules and the subsequent kinetics of the reactive transients. Applications of this research are mainly focused on the nuclear power industry, such as reactor water chemistry, separations, and waste storage, but environmental and biological radiation effects are also considered. This work involves the development and use of a wide variety of experimental radiolysis techniques including beta radiolysis, gamma radiolysis, fast electron pulse radiolysis, and heavy ion radiolysis (protons to uranium), as well as the application and development of many analytical techniques in radiation chemistry. Experiments are complemented by theoretical physical track structure calculations and diffusion-kinetic chemical model calculations.

Key Words

Hydrogen, Nuclear Energy

Relevant Energy Publications

1. LaVerne, Jay A., Mark S. Driscoll, and Mohamad Al-Sheikhly. "Radiation stability of lignocellulosic material components." Radiation Physics and Chemistry 171 (2020): 108716.
2. Huestis, Patricia L., Trent R. Graham, Sebastian T. Mergelsberg, and Jay A. LaVerne. "Identification of Radiolytically-Active Thermal Transition Phases in Boehmite." Thermochimica Acta 689 (2020): 178611.
3. Phillips, William C., Ruchi Gakhar, Gregory P. Horne, Bobby Layne, Kazuhiro Iwamatsu, Alejandro Ramos-Ballesteros, Michael R. Shaltry, Jay A. LaVerne, Simon M. Pimblott, and James F. Wishart. "Design and performance of high-temperature furnace and cell holder for in situ spectroscopic, electrochemical, and radiolytic investigations of molten salts." Review of Scientific Instruments 91, no. 8 (2020): 083105.
4. Gilson, Sara E., Melissa Fairley, Patrick Julien, Allen G. Oliver, Sylvia L. Hanna, Grace Arntz, Omar K. Farha, Jay A. LaVerne, and Peter C. Burns. "Unprecedented Radiation Resistant Thorium–Binaphthol Metal–Organic Framework." Journal of the American Chemical Society 142, no. 31 (2020): 13299-13304.
5. LaVerne, Jay A., and Patricia L. Huestis. "H Atom Production and Reaction in the Gamma Radiolysis of Thermally Modified Boehmite." The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 123, no. 34 (2019): 21005-21010.

Department Website
Group Website