Bio
Dr. Louise Evans is a Senior R&D Scientist in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and is also the Nonproliferation Program Integration Lead for the Advanced Reactors strategic growth area. Louise joined ORNL in 2012. Louise has 15 years of professional experience in non-destructive assay (NDA) science and technology including the design of custom NDA solutions for nuclear safeguards applications. Her research focuses on nonproliferation verification measurement needs for emerging nuclear technologies, and detection system modernization. Louise leads the Uranium-233 Detection Science area and established a research program and collaboration on Thorium Fuel Cycle Safeguards across three US DOE National Laboratories and the Y-12 National Security Complex. She has spoken at the National Academies on this topic.
Formerly, Louise was a Postdoc at Los Alamos National Laboratory and designed the Euratom Fast Collar NDA system, which was adopted by Euratom. Prior to relocating to the United States, she was a Gap Expert in the AREVA Research and Innovation Division. Louise holds a B.Sc. in Physics with Biomedical Physics (2004), M.Sc. in Nuclear Reactor Physics and Technology (2005), and Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics (2009) from the University of Birmingham, UK.
Louise is the author of 101 publications in the NDA field and co-author of a book chapter. She was the recipient of the 2015 Institute of Nuclear Materials Management Early Career Award and corecipient of the 2021 US DOE Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award. Louise serves as ORNL’s POC for the DOE-NNSA NA-241 Advanced Reactors International Safeguards Engagement (ARISE) program, Associate Editor of the Journal of Nuclear Materials Management, ORNL Seed Committee Representative, and is the past Chair of the European Safeguards Research and Development Agency NDA Working Group.
Awards
2021 U.S. DOE Secretary of Energy's Achievement Award
2015 Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) Early Career Award
2005-2008 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Studentship
2004 EPSRC Studentship