Leticia Pibida (Fed)

Dr. Leticia Pibida joined the Radiation Physics Division at NIST in 1998. At the beginning of her career at NIST she was the principal investigator for the NIST resonance ionization mass spectrometry (RIMS) system. She is currently the lead scientist for gamma- and x-ray spectrometry measurements using high purity germanium detectors at NIST, that provides activity calibrations and impurity measurements. As part of this work she performs half-life and emission intensity measurements for a wide variety of radionuclides that contribute to the improvement of evaluated nuclear data. She is also the project leader for the development of a broad range of documentary American national and international standards for homeland security applications involving radiation detection. In recognition for her leadership in support of homeland security, Dr. Pibida was awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal in 2004 and 2013. Dr. Pibida was among the first radiation experts nationwide who helped lead the development of the first four ANSI/IEEE standards for radiation detection adopted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She led the first effort to test radiation detection equipment against these four standards. Following this effort, she conducted testing of radiation detection instruments at national laboratories throughout the U.S. and at NIST. This work led her to develop together with the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) a new laboratory accreditation program for testing radiation detection instrument against standards used for homeland security applications.

Due to her outstanding initial contribution in support of DHS she was asked to contribute to the testing of the advance spectroscopy portal monitors and various radiation detection systems. As a result of this most recent contribution she has traveled to testing facilities throughout the country to perform measurements, advice and supervise testing methods. She is currently leading the development of technical capability standards for DHS.

Dr. Pibida is recognized at the international level for her expertise in metrology and radiation detection measurements. She is the convener of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committee 45 Working Group B15 for development of standards for detection of illicit traffic of radiological and nuclear materials and for Working Group 9 for nuclear instrumentation. She is a co-author of more than 80 scientific publications in peer reviewed journals and is the author of more than 40 reports and plans for testing of radiation detection systems for homeland security. She has been invited to give presentations at conferences, agencies and national and international organizations. She has significantly contributed to the development of more than 20 documentary standards for both the ANSI/IEEE and IEC. As chair of the ANSI N42 committee she helped implement the transition from ANSI to the IEEE.

Dr. Pibida was a Finalist for the Samuel J. Hayman Service to America Medals (the Sammies) in 2019, she was awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce NIST William P. Slichter. Award in 2016, the Arthur S. Flemming Award and the Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service in 2012. In 2018 she was Elected Council Member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP).