News from the division
(more news on the Division of Nuclear and Radiochemistry Facebook Group)
2024
Louise Natrajan is a Reader in inorganic chemistry at the University of Manchester UK, and the current chair elect of the Royal Society of Chemistry Radiochemistry group. Her research focuses on the coordination chemistry and optical properties of the f-elements, with a particular focus on the early actinides.
In DNRC, she replaces Dr. Nick Evans as representative for the UK. Welcome on board, Louise!
2023
November – New nominated DNRC member for Spain: Dr. Alex Tarancón
Dr. Alex Tarancón is an Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona and a member of the Questram-R research group, which specializes in the analysis of radionuclides and their behavior in the environment. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2007 from the University of Barcelona, focusing on the development of radioactivity sensors for water surveillance using plastic scintillators.
His research experience covers topics as development of instrumentation, radioactivity detection through scintillation, pulse shape discrimination, radiochemical separations, and analysis of beta and alpha-emitting radionuclides in several types of matrices. Dr. Tarancón also possesses expertise in synthesizing polymers and resins at different scales of production.
Currently his research is centered on the development of new materials (resins, measuring kits,…) and strategies (fast methods, selective analysis, on-line sensing, in-situ measurements, screening test…) for
measuring radioactivity in the environmental, decommissioning, or medical field.. He has been co-author of 45 publications in peer-reviewed journals, 4 book chapters, 1 patent and more than 60 presentations in international conferences.
In DNRC, he replaces Prof. C. Gascó Leonarte as representative for Spain. Welcome on board Alex!
September – New nominated DNRC member for Germany: Dr. Alice Seibert
Dr. Alice Seibert is working as an official of the European Commission at the Joint Research Center (JRC) in Karlsruhe.
She studied chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and received her PhD in 1999 for her research work in the field of nuclear waste disposal realised at the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry. After her doctorate, she continued this topic at the University of Mainz. From 2001 to 2005 she worked at the Institute for Nuclear Waste Management at the Karlsruhe Research Center (now Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT-INE) in the field of aquatic chemistry of the actinides. After a scholarship at the Institute for Transurane (now Joint Research Center Karlsruhe, JRC Karlsruhe) in the field of surface sciences and fuel corrosion she joined in 2011 the WAK GmbH Reprocessing Plant Karlsruhe, (today KTE) as scientific adviser on ongoing operations and contract work in decommissioning projects and for the accreditation of the radiochemical laboratory.
Since 2013 her research topics at the Joint Research Center (JRC) in Karlsruhe cover investigations on model substances for final waste disposal and severe accident scenarios.
In DNRC, she replaces Prof. Christoph Düllmann as representative for Germany. Welcome on board, Alice!
July – New nominated DNRC member for France: Prof. Jean Aupiais
Prof. Jean Aupiais is a professor of radiochemistry at the National Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology located at the CEA Saclay center. He received his pHD in 1990 at the university of Orsay on the subject of quantifying thorium and uranium isotopes in basaltic rocks in order to discriminate anthropogenic uranium from natural uranium. He obtained the Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (Dr. Habil.) in 2001 for which he summarized his research activities in the field of alpha liquid scintillation technique. He presently focuses his research on actinide speciation in environment thanks to a hyphenated technique CE-ICPMS (capillary electrophoresis coupled to an ICP-MS). He is co-authored of 87 peer-reviewed articles, 2 book chapters and has co-edited 1 book.
In DNRC, he replaces Prof. Philippe Moisy as representative for France. Welcome on board, Jean!
June – New nominated DNRC member for Switzerland: Prof. Patrick Steinegger
Prof. Patrick Julian Steinegger holds a joint appointment as a group leader and an assistant professor of radiochemistry at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and the ETH Zürich in Switzerland. The Heavy Elements group, led by Patrick, focuses their research activities on the chemical characterization of the heaviest elements in the periodic table. To accomplish this, Patrick and his team leverage the large-scale research facilities of PSI, in addition to collaborating with international partners who provide suitable accelerators. The experiments conducted by the group often require custom developments, such as innovative targets for heavy-ion irradiations and semiconductor solid-state detectors for high-temperature alpha-spectroscopy.
For more information, watch their video (https://youtu.be/b3RmsHoQETA) and visit the website of the Laboratory of Radiochemistry (https://www.psi.ch/en/lrc).
In DNRC, he replaces Prof. Andreas Türler as representative for Switzerland. Welcome on board, Patrick!
June – New nominated DNRC member for Austria: Prof. Georg Steinhauser
Georg Steinhauser is a professor of applied radiochemistry at TU Wien. He is a graduate of the University of Vienna (Diploma 2003, Chemistry) and the TU Wien (PhD 2005, Radiochemistry). His scientific roots are around the 250 kW research reactor of the TRIGA Center Atominstitut of TU Wien. In 2013, he accepted an appointment as a tenure track assistant professor of radiochemistry to the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences at Colorado State University, USA. In 2014, he was guest professor at Fukushima University, Japan. In 2015, he was appointed as professor of physical radioecology to Leibniz University Hannover (Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection). In 2021, he was invited to join the Nuclear and Radiochemistry Group of Los Alamos National Laboratory as a research scholar in the course of a sabbatical.
His current work focuses on environmental radioactivity after nuclear releases and nuclear emergencies (Fukushima and Chernobyl), environmental nuclear forensics, radionuclide analysis, neutron activation analysis, and synthetic inorganic chemistry of the f-block elements.
There has not been a representative for Lithuania before, so we are extra happy to welcome Georg onboard!
June – New nominated DNRC member for Lithuania: Dr. Galina Lujaniene
Dr. Galina Lujaniene is a senior scientist in the Environmental Research Department of the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC) in Vilnius, Lithuania. She received her Ph.D. in chemistry from Vilnius University in 1993. Since 1980, she has worked as a senior engineer and scientist at the Institute of Physics of the Lithuanian Academy of Science, which was integrated into the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology in 2010, then as a senior scientist, head of the research group and head of the radiochemical laboratory.
Her research interests include radioanalytical chemistry, environmental radioactivity, and the application of radionuclides in tracer studies, the speciation of radionuclides in the environment, and the development of nano-sorbents for the removal of radionuclides and metals from contaminated solutions. She has been involved in projects related to the assessment of the consequences of the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, the assessment of radionuclide sources in the environment (forest fires, dust storms, hot particles, aerosol and suspended particles in the atmosphere and in water bodies) as well as studies on radionuclide migration in soils and clay minerals, the development of new methods and the measurements radionuclides in environmental and radioactive waste samples.
There has not been a representative for Lithuania before, so we are extra happy to welcome Galina onboard!
January – Prof Fotini NOLI – new nominated DNRC member
Fotini Noli is a Professor for radiochemistry at the Department of Chemistry of the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Thessaloniki in 1994 and then spent a year as a Postdoc in the Institute National Polytechnique de Toulouse, France. During her studies, she spent periods of time as a research fellow in the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (JRC-Geel, IRMM), Belgium, and in the Nuclear Physics Institute, University of Frankfurt, Germany.
Her research focuses on the following fields: 1) Investigation of the sorption properties of natural and synthetic materials for the removal of radionuclides from aqueous solutions, 2) Determination of natural radioactivity using gamma-ray spectroscopy, 3) Uranium and Radium determination using alpha-ray spectroscopy, 4) Studies on oxidation and corrosion of the metallic surfaces using: a) Nuclear and Atomic Techniques for Surface and Thin film Analysis and treatment and b) Potentiodynamic and Cyclovoltammetric Techniques, 5) Materials analysis by Neutron Activation Analysis, X-ray Fluorescence, Nuclear Reactions.
In DNRC, she replaces one of its founding members – Prof. Panagiotis Misaelides. Welcome on board, Fotini!
2021
December – Pro memoria Hans Rudolf (Hansruedi) von Gunten (12.12.1928 – 7.12.2021)
Hansruedi von Gunten was the first full professor for Radiochemistry in Switzerland (University of Bern, 1971 – 1993). He studied chemistry at the University of Bern and finished his studies with a licence including an experimental study on complex iron compounds in 1954, followed by a doctoral thesis under Profs. W. Buser and F. Houtermanns which he finished 1956 – just before his successful ascent of Mt. Everest on May 24, 1956. His full “Pro memoria” is available here.
July – Call for nominations for Hevesy Medal Awards 2021 and 2022
Nominations of candidates for the Hevesy Medal Awards 2021 and 2022 are widely solicited from the international community and may be initiated by individual colleagues or their institutes. The Call was just published online in JRNC and is available via a link https://rdcu.be/cm6kb. Nominations including all materials must be received by the chairman of HMASP, Prof. Amares Chatt, on or before the 29th October 2021.
The 2021 Hevesy Medal Award (HMA-2021) will be presented at the 19th Radiochemical Conference (RadChem-2022) scheduled to be held in Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic during 11-16th May 2022. The 2022 Hevesy Medal Award (HMA-2022) will be presented at the 7th Asia-Pacific Symposium On Radiochemistry (APSORC22) scheduled to be held in Koriyama/Fukushima, Japan during 12-16th September 2022.
June – RadChem 2022 conference announced
The 19th Radiochemical Conference – RadChem 2022, organised on behalf of the DNRC by the Czech Chemical Society, I. M. Marci Spectroscopic Society and the Czech Technical University – should take place on the 15th to 20th May 2022 in Mariáské Lázně (Czech Republic), as originally foreseen. It aims at maintaining the 60 year tradition of this conference series organised in the Czech Republic (or formerly in Czechoslovakia). The organisers strive to continue in the tradition of organising a fruitful and well attended platform for contacts between experts working in both basic and applied research in all aspects of nuclear- and radiochemistry.
The scope of the 19th Radiochemical Conference will cover most topics of the former meetings of this series including, but not limited to, chemistry of radioactive elements, radioanalytical methods, radiochemical separation methods and speciation techniques, environmental radioactivity (both natural and artificial), radioecology, application of radionuclides and ionising radiation in research and technology, radiation chemistry, chemistry of the nuclear fuel cycle including the chemical problems in nuclear waste treatment and disposal, or education and training. The organisers are looking forward to further expansion of the session dealing with nuclear methods in medicine and radiopharmaceutical chemistry that has been very successful on the recent conferences. A call for abstracts will be issued in September 2021. For more details and updates keep visiting the RadChem web.
2020
March – The NRC10 conference cancelled
We regret to inform that due to the pandemics situation the Radiochemistry Group at the Royal Society of Chemistry, on behalf of the Division of Nuclear and Radiochemistry of EUChemS, decided to cancel the 10th Nuclear and Radiochemistry Conference in Brighton scheduled for 24th-28th August 2020. NRC10 will take place at the same venue in 2024, the exact dates to be announced later. The details will be published in the Conferences section of this web when available.
January – Prof Marko Štrok – new nominated DNRC member
Marko Štrok is heading Radiochemistry Laboratory at the Department of Environmental Sciences at Jožef Stefan Institute. He is also assistant professor at the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School. He finished his PhD in 2011 at the Jožef Stefan Postgraduate School on the subject of migration of critical radionuclides at the former uranium mine Žirovski vrh in Slovenia. He was awarded Ontario postdoctoral fellowship at Trent University in Peterborough Canada (2012-2013) where he worked on the research related to Hg isotope ratios in water samples.
His research focuses mainly on analytical radiochemistry of natural and artificial radionuclides by combining radiometric and mass spectrometric techniques and utilization of them for radioecology, environmental radioactivity, dose assessment, radiometric dating and application of radionuclides as environmental tracers. He is co-author of 33 peer-reviewed research articles, published in international journals. Welcome on board, Marko!
2019
February – The NRC10 conference will be in Brighton in August 2020
The Radiochemistry Group at the Royal Society of Chemistry, on behalf of the Division of Nuclear and Radiochemistry of EUChemS, will be hosting the 10th Nuclear and Radiochemistry Conference in Brighton from 24th-28th August 2020. Please notice that the venue has been changed from Manchester, as originally announced at NRC9 in Helsinki in 2016.
January – DNRC is now on Facebook and LinkedIn
We have launched a Facebook page and group and a LinkedIn group (check out the links!). We will use these to promote our Division on social media. Please join the groups, gives likes (or dislikes..), and help us add content. If you are arranging a workshop, seminar or conference related to DNRC we would greatly appreciate if it can be announced on our pages. Likewise with positions and scholarships, summer/winter schools, etc.
2018
December – 2018 DNRC Annual Meeting Minutes and 2018 DNRC Activity Report on-line!
The 2018 DNRC Annual Meeting Minutes and the 2018 DNRC Activity Report are available on-line!
November – Prof Thomas Cardinaels – new nominated DNRC member
The Belgian chemical society (KVCV) nominated Prof Thomas Cardinaels of SCK•CEN ǀ Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, and the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), as a new DNRC member. Since 2015, Prof. Cardinaels has been a Guest Professor at KU Leuven in the Department of Chemistry, where he is in charge of the courses Nuclear and Radiochemistry. In the same year, he became head of the Radiochemistry group at SCK•CEN, which activities cover a broad discipline of radiochemical analyses, partitioning and conversion of minor actinides, and the synthesis of nuclear fuels. Recently, the research of the group is more and more focussing on the production of medical radioisotopes, and the development and synthesis of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. For more details, see his C.V. Welcome on board, Thomas!
September – DNRC Honorary Membership award and the Pro Meritis medal awared to Dr Tony Ware
The first of its kind DNRC Honorary Membership award together with the Pro Meritis medal were awarded to Dr Tony Ware during the 13th International Symposium on Nuclear and Environmental Radiochemical Analysis that took place on 17-20th September 2018, Jesus College, Cambridge UK. This particular award was in recognition of the supreme efforts Dr Ware provided in order to set up the Division of Nuclear and Radiochemistry of EuChemS. This came from the vision and drive he has always had to get all the radiochemists in Europe together under one banner, which has led to more and better cooperation across national boundaries. The award and the medal were presented by Prof Jan John, the Secretary of the DNRC.
The role Dr Tony Ware played in the establishment of DNRC is described in detail in the “History of the Division of Nuclear and Radiochemistry section of EuChemS”. More details on the award are available in the Honours section, the diploma can be viewed here. Full ERA13 symposium report is available here.
2017
“DNRC Honorary Membership” award established
By the update of its Procedures and Practices the Annual Meeting of the DNRC established this new award. “DNRC Honorary Membership” is designed to honour a person of outstanding merits and long-lasting valuable services for DNRC. More details are available in the Honours section, full conditions in the DNRC Procedures and Practices.
2016
New chairman elected
On August 29, 2016, Prof. Jon Petter Omtvedt was elected as a new chairman at the DNRC meeting that took place during the NRC9 conference in Helsinki.
Major update of the Division web
In connection with the transfer to the new EuChemS web, a major update of the DNRC pages was performed on July 31, 2015.