Colloquia

This lecture series has been made possible by a generous endowment from Gladys Hetzner Knoll. “Glenn’s first love was his students and their research. He always enjoyed the contact he had with graduate students. This lecture series is a way that Glenn’s legacy can encourage engagement between the University of Michigan students and researchers in radiation measurement,” said Gladys, Professor Knoll’s wife. “The NERS department has been like an extended family to the Knoll family, and it has been a delight to us to see it grow both in size and prestige. Glenn and I both took pride in the achievements of the faculty and their graduates, and we felt that they, collectively, did work that makes our world better and safer. This is part of our legacy, too.”

First Annual (2015)
William Moses, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Second Annual (2016)
David Kay, International Atomic Energy Agency

Third Annual (2017)
Lothar Strüder, CEO of PNSensor and Professor at the University of Siegen, Germany: High-Speed Imaging and Spectroscopy of X-Rays and Particles with Silicon Detectors

Fourth Annual (2018)

Fifth Annual (September 20, 2019)
Dr. Adam Bernstein, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: Detection and Measurement of Highly Penetrating Radiation

Sixth Annual (October 21, 2022)
Dr. Josh Grindlay, Harvard University: Development of the High-Resolution Energetic X-ray Imager (HREXI)

Seventh Annual (November 17, 2023)
Dr. Kai Vetter, UC Berkeley: Applied Nuclear Physics at the Intersection of Science, Technologies, and Society

Eighth Annual (October 24, 2024)
Dr. Simon R. Cherry, UC Davis: Innovations in Radiation Detectors and Systems for Positron Emission Tomography

This annual lecture series has been made possible by a generous endowment by MIT Professor Emeritus Sidney Yip, a former student of Professor Osborn. These annual lectures are a tribute to Professor Osborn’s unwavering dedication to education of students in fundamental science. It is the goal of these lectures to inspire future generations of students in nuclear theory and simulation.

First Annual (2011)
Ju Li, MIT

Second Annual (2012)
James Duderstadt, NERS: Lessons Learned from a Half Century of Battles in the Nuclear Power Wars

Third Annual (2013)
Jack Carpenter, ANL

Fourth Annual (2015)
Paul Turinsky, NC State: CASL’s Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA): What Is Possible?

Fifth Annual (April 1, 2016)
Brian Wirth, Department of Nuclear Engineering at University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Development of Multiscale Materials Modeling Techniques and Coarse-Graining Strategies for Predicting Materials Degradation in Harsh Nuclear Fission and Fusion Environments

Sixth Annual (March 31, 2017)
Ziya Akcasu (with Ron Fleming), NERS: Personal Reminiscences of Dick Osborn

Seventh Annual (April 6, 2018)
Thomas Sutton, Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and Adjunct Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institutue: Application of Techniques from Population Genetics and Computational Ecology to the Analysis of Monte Carlo Iterated-Fission-Source Calculations

Eighth Annual (2019)
Tom Mehlhorn, Naval Research Laboratory: The Quest for Fusion: Will Modern Computing and Data Help Cut the Gordian Knot?

Ninth Annual (April 8, 2022)
Per Peterson, UC Berkeley: Universities and the Story of a Nuclear Start-up Company: Kairos Power

Tenth Annual (April 7, 2023)
Kathryn Huff, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy: More Important Than Bombs

Eleventh Annual (April 12, 2024)
Edward Larsen, NERS Professor Emeritus: Fifty Years of Progress in Computational Transport

Twelfth Annual (April 11, 2025)
Forrest Brown, Los Alamos National Laboratory: Advances in Monte Carlo Criticality Methods—A Developer’s View