Professional Background

My name is Allen C. Shaw, and I am extremely excited and grateful to be a part of the Marshall Islands Radioecology and Dose Assessment Program here at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory! I was awarded my B.S. in Biochemistry in 2019 from California State University, East Bay in Hayward, California.  While working toward my degree, I had the privilege to work both as a high school tutor in Dublin, California as well as a research assistant in the Tinnacher laboratory at East Bay. My work with the Tinnacher lab dealt with the study of uranium sorption onto engineered barrier systems in the context of permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel. My role with the Tinnacher lab allowed me several opportunities to present a poster of the ongoing work in the lab, most notably at the 2019 National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Orlando, Florida. Immediately prior to the beginning of the 2020 pandemic, I not only continued my roles as a tutor and research assistant but was also working as a long-term substitute Honors Chemistry teacher. Before my enrollment in the Biochemistry program at California State University, East Bay, I spent several years in both the retail and banking sectors.

Research Interests

My current focus with the Marshall Islands Radioecology and Dose Assessment Program will be to examine a variety of samples from sites across the Marshall Islands to better understand the distribution of radionuclides resulting from the U.S. nuclear weapons testing program and their potential impact to the Marshallese people.

My previous research with the Tinnacher laboratory at California State University, East Bay was to study the sorption of uranium onto engineered barrier systems that are being considered in the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel in proposed underground repositories.

BS, Biochemistry, California State University East Bay, 2019

• Co-recipient of the 2019 Outstanding Biochemistry Student Award
• Recipient of the 2018 American Chemical Society POLYED Undergraduate Award for Achievement in Organic Chemistry
• California State University, East Bay Honor’s and Dean’s Lists, GPA: 3.917
• Distinguished Scholar in the California State University, East Bay’s Center for Student Research