We are thrilled to recognize UCF graduate students David Rai II and Austin Burns, who earned First and Third Place in the Oral Presentation competition at the Southeastern American Chemical Society Meeting – Advancements in Nuclear Chemistry Symposium.
Their accomplishments reflect not only the high quality of their research, but also their ability to communicate complex scientific concepts with clarity and confidence—an essential skill for leadership and success in the field. We applaud them for their professionalism and exemplary representation of our program.
David Ria II, Professor Anagnostopoulos, Austin Burns
Congratulations to Hannah Patz and Enrique Medici for receiving the TRAINS fellowship! Hannah and Enrique are two of only five TRAINS Fellowship recipients from the US!
The Training in Radiological and International Nuclear Security (TRAINS) Fellowship is designed to strengthen international collaboration in nuclear security education among universities and research laboratories in the United States and Europe. Sponsored by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the program is administered by the University of Siena in partnership with the European Union’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), the University of Liège, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), and the South Carolina Universities Research and Education Foundation (SCUREF).
Enrique Medici
Hannah Patz
Hannah also will be attending the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) School of Nuclear Knowledge Management (NKM) at Texas A&M University in December. The school is a one-week course with participants from around the world, focusing on intensive training on the implementation of nuclear knowledge management programs.
🎉 We are excited to announce that Professor Kyle Hartig has been selected for the second annual NN 40 Under 40. This recognition highlights emerging leaders whose innovation, expertise, and dedication are advancing the future of the nuclear industry. He joins a distinguished group of 40 individuals making meaningful, lasting contributions across every sector of the field.
Kyle is not only the Consortium Associate Director, he has also secured a Reactor Sharing Program grant that opened the UF Training Reactor not only to minority-serving institutions but also to students across other Florida campuses—broadening opportunities and shaping the future workforce in nuclear security.
Please join us in congratulating Professor Hartig on this well-deserved honor! 🥳
🎉 Congratulations to the Director of CNF, Professor James Baciak, Ph.D., on receiving the 2025 Arthur Holly Compton Award in Education from the American Nuclear Society!
This prestigious lifetime achievement award recognizes his decades of outstanding impact in nuclear education, mentoring, and workforce development.
We applaud Professor Baciak’s dedication to shaping the future of the nuclear field! 👏 👏 👏
Congratulations to our 2025 Annual Workshop Student Award Winners!
CNF’s 2025 Annual Workshop at Lake Nona was a tremendous success!
The event, hosted by the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida, brought together nearly 100 attendees from universities and laboratories across the country and featured many outstanding student presentations. We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who participated and helped make this workshop such a memorable and impactful experience.
Congratulations goes to Joseph Goodwin who successfully defended his dissertation “Progress Towards Uranium Isotope Ratio Measurements Directly from Cotton Swipes with the Liquid Sampling – Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge (LS-APGD) Ionization Source”, this July!
Congratulations is due to Dr. Wu who has been promoted to Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering with tenure at North Carolina State University!
“This milestone would not have been possible without the support of my mentors, colleagues, collaborators, students, friends, and family. A big shout-out to my exceptional students in the ARTISANS research group”-Wu
Deborah Penchoff was an invited expert on a panel hosted by the University of Tennessee’s Alumni College, where she discussed the future of artificial intelligence, its impact on the workforce, and AI security. Through her groundbreaking research, Dr. Penchoff is helping to shape the next wave of innovation in AI—particularly in the fields of chemistry, radiochemistry, and national security.
As the host consortium, CNF is grateful to all who made UPR 2025 possible!
The 2025 NNSA Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development (DNN R&D) University Program Review (UPR), hosted by the Consortium for Nuclear Forensics (CNF) at the University of Florida's own Ben Hill Griffin Stadium—affectionately known as "The Swamp"—was a resounding success! With over 300 attendees, the event brought together a vibrant and mission-driven community of university researchers, students, national laboratory scientists, and program managers from across the country.
“Hosting the UPR 2025 at UF underscored the transformative power of partnership—when academia and the national labs align with NNSA’s mission, we accelerate discovery, cultivate the next generation of experts, and ensure the United States remains at the forefront of nuclear-security science.”
— James Baciak, Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Director of the NNSA Consortium for Nuclear Forensics, University of Florida
A special congratulations goes to our student award winners:
🏆 Best Oral Presentation: James Krec (NC State)
🏆 Best Poster Presentation: Jeffrey Musk (Oregon State)
🏆 Best Lab Collaboration: Hannah Patz (University of Florida) – in collaboration with PNNL
Congratulations to Vasileios Anagnostopoulos for receiving a Faculty Sabbatical at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory!
This program represents a strategic initiative by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to engage distinguished university faculty and promote valuable opportunities for scholarly exchange and collaborative research.
Vasileios will be spending his summer in Livermore working on plutonium chemistry on topics related to non-proliferations and national security.
We are proud to announce that doctoral students Weslee Kersey and Hannah Patz have successfully passed their PhD candidacy exams. Both are enrolled in the Nuclear Engineering Sciences program, where they have demonstrated innovative research and a dedication to advancing the field.
Weslee Kersey
Hannah Patz
We’re excited to announce that Paige Anderson has been selected to participate in the 2025 Nuclear Science and Security Consortium (NSSC) Summer School at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).
This prestigious and highly competitive program brings together top students nationwide for immersive coursework and hands-on research in nuclear science, national security, and nonproliferation. The 2025 program will spotlight advanced topics in nuclear forensics, detection technologies, and global security challenges.
Please join us in congratulating Paige on this outstanding achievement!
Kudos to Brittany Stieferman for receiving the 1st Place Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Research!
Brittany is working with Dr. Deborah Penchoff on machine learning for radiochemical separations as part of our Consortium.
Congratulations Dr. Travis Barker for successfully defending his dissertation and to Josephine Hartmann for passing her Ph.D. qualifying exams! Great job you two!
CNF undergraduate student Enrique Medici was awarded the National GEM Fellowship and will be interning at JHU's Applied Physics Lab this summer in the Force Projection Sector, “Provide decisive offensive capabilities enabled by timely, assured response for deterring, engaging, and defeating adversaries across multiple domains”.
Enrique has also been awarded Department of Defense (DoD) Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Fellowship. Enrique will receive full tuition support, a substantial stipend, and guaranteed summer internships at the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC)—his sponsoring institution—throughout his doctoral studies. Upon completion of his Ph.D., he will also transition to a full-time position at AFTAC.
Austin Burns recently earned a prestigious summer internship at Los Alamos National Lab! Austin will join the Nuclear & Radiochemistry Division and will use LIBS and LA-ICP-MS to characterize synthetic nuclear explosion debris, as well as conduct debris post-dissolution separations. Congrats Austin!
Congratulations to CNF Faculty Member, Prof. Amy Hixon, on getting a joint appointment with SRNL!
Bravo to CNF Faculty Members Prof. Nathalie Wall, Lynn Francesconi, Benjamin Burton-Pye, and Deborah Penchoff on their new award selected for funding from NNSA on plutonium and neptunium separations!
Natalie Wall also will have a joint appointment with the Savannah River National
Congratulations Vassilia Zorba for being the keynote speaker at CES 2025, ‘Reimagining the Future of Accelerated Materials Discovery to Revolutionize Energy, Mobility, and Security’.
