Dr. Darren Bleuel has a diverse experimental nuclear physics research background with a particular focus on cross-disciplinary fields like nuclear-plasma-atomic interactions, biological effects of radiation, laser-induced nuclear reactions, and astrophysical nucleosynthesis. He also has extensive experience performing a wide variety of accelerator-based experiments involving gamma-ray spectroscopy in coincidence with particle identification, as well as neutronics simulations using MCNP. The vast majority of his work has, in some way, involved neutrons.

He received both his bachelor’s and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of California (UC) at Berkeley, designing an optimal moderated neutron spectrum for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy. He then served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) developing a deuteron-breakup facility at the 88-Inch Cyclotron. Subsequently, as a postdoc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he developed and led the neutron activation diagnostic program at the National Ignition Facility, which provided the first indication of implosion asymmetries. He became a full-time staff physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2007 and currently researches both direct and indirect neutron cross section measurements, neutron imaging, reactions networks of short-lived fission products, and nuclear-plasma interactions. He collaborates extensively with LBNL and UC Berkeley, notably through the construction of GENESIS, a new facility for measuring inelastic cross sections at LBNL's 88-inch cyclotron, as well as the University of Oslo, Ohio University, Michigan State University (FRIB), and iThemba LABS.

Ph.D. Nuclear Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, 2003

M.S. Nuclear Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, 1997

B.S. Nuclear Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, 1993

T. A. Laplace, B. L. Goldblum, J. A. Brown, D. L. Bleuel, C. A. Brand, G. Gabella, T. Jordan, C. Moore, N. Munshi, Z. W. Sweger, A. Sweet, E. Brubaker, "Low energy light yield of fast plastic scintillators," Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A-Accel. Spectrom. Dect. Assoc., 954, 161444 (2020).

K. L. Malatji, M. Wiedeking, S. Goriely, C. P. Brits, B. Kheswa, F. L. Bello Garrote, D. L. Bleuel, F. Giacoppo, A. Gorgen, M. Guttormsen, K. Hadynska-Klek, T. W. Hagen, V. W. Ingeberg, M. Klintefjorde, A. C. Larsen, R. Papka, T. Renstrom, E. Sahin, S. Siem, L. Siess, G. M. Tyeten, F. Zeiser, "Re-estimation of Ta-180 nucleosynthesis in light of newly constrained reaction rates," Phys. Lett. B, 791, 054609 (2019).

M. D. Jones, A. O. Macchiavelli, M. Wiedeking, L. A. Bernstein, H. L. Crawford, C. M. Campbell, R. M. Clark, M. Cromaz, P. Fallon, I. Y. Lee, et. al. M. Salathe, A. Wiens, A. D. Ayangeakaa, D. L. Bleuel, S. Bottoni, M. P. Carpenter, H. M. Davids, J. Elson, A. Gorgen, M. Guttormsen, R. V. F. Janssens, J. E. Kinnison, L. Kirsch, A. C. Larsen, T. Lauritsen, W. Reviol, D. G. Sarantites, S. Siem, A. V. Voinov, S. Zhu, "Examination of the low-energy enhancement of the gamma-ray strength function of Fe-56," Phys. Rev. C, 97, 024327 (2018).

K. P. Harrig, B. L. Goldblum, J. A. Brown, D. L. Bleuel, L. A. Bernstein, J. Bevins, M. Harasty, T. A. Laplace, E. F. Matthews, "Neutron Spectroscopy for pulsed beams with frame overlap using a double time-of-flight technique," Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A-Accel. Spectrom. Dect. Assoc., 877, UNSP 00030 (2018).

B. H. Daub, D. L. Bleuel, M. Wiedeking, L. A. Bernstein, N. M. Brickner, J. A. Brown, B. L. Goldblum, K. S. Holliday, J. Lundgren, K. Moody, "Neutron transfer in the C-13+Au-197 reaction from gold isotope residuals," Phys. Rev. C, 96, 024602 (2017).

B. V. Kheswa, M. Wiedeking, J. A. Brown, A. C. Larsen, S. Goriely, M. Guttormsen, F. L. Bello Garrote, L. A. Bernstein, D. L. Bleuel, T. K. Eriksen, F. Giacoppo, A. Gorgen, B. L. Goldblum, T. W. Hagen, P. E. Koehler, M. Klintefjord, K. L. Malatji, J. E. Midtbo, H. T. Nyhus, P. Papka, T. Renstrom, S. J. Rose, E. Sahin, S. Siem, T. G. Tornyi, "La-137,La-138,La-139(n,gamma) cross sections constrained with statistical decay properties of La-138,La-139,La-140 nuclei," Phys. Rev. C, 95, 045805 (2017).

A. Spyrou, A. C. Larsen, S. N. Liddick, F. Naqvi, B. P. Crider, A. C. Dombos, M. Guttormsen, D. L. Bleuel, A. Couture, L. Crespo Campo, R. Lewis, S. Mosby, M. R. Mumpower, G. Perdikakis, C. J. Prokop, S. J. Quinn, T. Renstrom, S. Siem, R. Surman, "Neutron-capture rates for explosive nucleosynthesis: the case of Ni-68(n,gamma)Ni-69," J. Phys. G-Nucl. Part. Phys., 44, 044002 (2017).

Darren L. Bleuel, Lee A. Bernstein, Christopher A. Brand, William S. Cassata, Brian H. Daub, Lucile S. Dauffy, Bethany L. Goldblum, James M. Hall, Chris A. Hagmann, Laura Berzak Hopkins, Hesham Y. Khater, Andrea L. Kritcher, Dieter H. G. Schneider, Sunniva Siem, Carol A. Velsko, Mathis Wiedeking, "Method for Detection of Nuclear-Plasma Interactions in a Xe-134-Doped Exploding Pusher at the National Ignition Facility," Plasma Fusion Res., 11, UNSP 3401075 (2016).

M. J. Edwards, P. K. Patel, J. D. Lindl, L. J. Atherton, S. H. Glenzer, S. W. Haan, J. D. Kilkenny, O. L. Landen, E. I. Moses, A. Nikroo, R. Petrasso, T. C. Sangster, P. T. Springer, S. Batha, R. Benedetti, L. Bernstein, R. Betti, D. L. Bleuel, et. al., "Progress towards ignition on the National Ignition Facility," Phys. Plasmas 20, 070501 (2013).

D. L. Bleuel, C. B. Yeamans, L. A. Bernstein, R. M. Bionta, J. A. Caggiano, D. T. Casey, G. W. Cooper, O. B. Drury, J. A. Frenje, C. A. Hagmann, R. Hatarik, J. P. Knauer, M. Gatu Johnson, K. M. Knittel, R. J. Leeper, J. M. McNaney, M. Moran, C. L. Ruiz, and D. H. G. Schneider, "Neutron activation diagnostics at the National Ignition Facility," Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 10D313 (2012).

M. Wiedeking, L. A. Bernstein, M. Krticka, D. L. Bleuel, J. M. Allmond, M. S. Basunia, J. T. Burke, P. Fallon, R. B. Firestone, B. L. Goldblum, R. Hatarik, P. T. Lake, I-Y. Lee, S. R. Lesher, S. Paschalis, M. Petri, L. Phair, and N. D. Scielzo, "Low-Energy Enhancement in the Photon Strength of 95Mo," Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 162503 (2012).

D.L. Bleuel, L.A. Bernstein, J.T. Burke, J. Gibelin, M.D. Heffner, J. Mintz, E.B. Norman, L.W. Phair, N.D. Scielzo, S.A. Sheets, N.J. Snyderman, M.A. Stoyer, M. Wiedeking, "Gamma-ray multiplicity measurement of the spontaneous fission of 252Cf in a segmented HPGe/BGO detector array," Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A 624 (3) 691-698 (2010).

D.L. Bleuel, M.A. McMahan, L. Ahle, B.R. Barquest, J. Cerny, L.H. Heilbronn, and C.C. Jewett, "Characterization of a tunable quasi-monoenergetic neutron beam from deuteron breakup," Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B, 261, 974-979, (2007).

D.L. Bleuel, R.J. Donahue, B.A. Ludewigt, and J. Vujic, "Designing Accelerator-Based Epithermal Neutron Beams for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy," Medical Physics 25 (9), 1725-1734 (1998).