DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Nesaraja evaluates mass chains assigned to nuclear data program centers like ORNL. She selects best values for archiving in a specialized nuclear structure database and publication. (Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy)
Nuclear physicist Caroline Nesaraja of the Department of Energy s Oak Ridge National Laboratory evaluates nuclear data vital to applied and basic sciences. Her work ensures that the scientific community has the best nuclear data for fundamental research and applications including medical isotopes, nuclear energy and national and international security. At the heart of nuclear data evaluation is recommending values for a range of nuclear properties for the community to adopt and use, said Nesaraja. Her exacting evaluation process starts with gathering extensive nuclear structure and decay data from experimental measurements published in peer-reviewed journals.