Bio
Cristian Celis-Barros received his B.S. and M.S. in chemistry from the University of Chile, and his Ph.D in Molecular Physical Chemistry from Universidad Andres Bello in Santiago, Chile. During his Ph.D., Cristian worked on understanding the electronic structure and bonding of actinide complexes using relativistic quantum chemistry under the direction of Prof. Ramiro Arratia-Perez and Prof. Dayan Paez-Hernandez. His Ph.D. led him to join Thomas Albrecht-Schoenzart group at Florida State University (FSU) for a posdoctoral position, where he was not only approaching actinide chemistry from the theoretical side but also applying his knowledge experimentally. In the laboratory, Cristian was able to gain some experimental experience working with actinides up to einsteinium. Cristian continued to support and mentor Ph.D. students in Prof. Albrecht-Schoenzart's group as a Research Professor at FSU and Colorado School of Mines (CSM), after which he decided to redirect his career by joining Oak Ridge National Laboratory in July 2023.
Currently, Cristian is part of the Radiochemical Process Development group in the Radioisotope Science & Technology Division supporting isotope production of Ni-63 and Pm-147 as well as conducting fundamental research for heavy actinide processing and separations. He is also interested in better understanding the fundamental chemistry of actinides such as Ac-225 and U-230/Th-226 to support their application to alpha-radiotherapy for cancer treatment.