Bio
Dr. Kristian Myhre has been a staff research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) since 2016. He originally came to ORNL as a graduate student in 2013 through a joint Ph.D. program between ORNL and the University of Tennessee. Dr. Myhre’s dissertation research focused on the development of a new f-element separation technique. In tandem, he also worked on the production of californium thin films via electrodeposition during graduate school. He was first introduced to nuclear science and engineering through an undergraduate research assistant position at the University of Washington, where he learned about production of radioisotopes (At-211; Re-186) on a cyclotron using solid targets. Dr. Myhre’s current research relates to radioisotope production and advanced nuclear energy with focuses on transuranic thin films, optical and neutron spectroscopic characterization of nuclear materials especially in real-time, as well as use of advanced data analysis methods to understand and design experiments. One of the projects he enjoys most is the production of transuranic targets for Super Heavy Element research. This has most recently involved the manufacturing of Cf-251 targets. He also enjoys leveraging advanced characterization techniques to enable real-time monitoring of chemical processes, including electrodeposition to better understand how to optimize thin film production procedures. Dr. Myhre has also mentored several post-doctoral researchers. and over a dozen undergraduate and graduate students, which is something he especially proud of and thankful for.