Svetlana Nour (Fed)

Svetlana Nour became a member of the PML Radioactivity Group (RG) in 2013 after being an associate NIST/University of Hawaii, 2010-2013 and NIST/University of Maryland, 2002 - 2010. She is a radiochemist trained in developing/optimizing radioanalytical methods for radioactivity analyses quantifying radionuclide massic activities in different matrices. Her expertise is applied in using and optimizing a range of radiochemical techniques for separation and measurements of radionuclides from a wide variety of matrices (from pure solution to complex environmental and biological samples). Her research includes exploring different techniques of samples dissolution (fusion, total acid dissolution/decomposition, and leaching) and radiochemical separation of radionuclides (precipitation, co-precipitation, anion-exchange, and chromatographic separation). She uses different measurement techniques such as alpha spectrometry including source preparation (co-precipitation and electrodeposition), beta spectrometry based on Liquid Scintillation Counting (LSC) and Gas-flow Proportional Counting (GFPC), and gamma spectrometry including calibration of gamma detectors with a wide range of geometry matrices (from pure solution to complex matrices).

Within the Radioactivity Group's efforts in developing Standard Reference Materials (SRM) she contributes by analyzing pure SRM as confirmatory measurements or for potential impurities performing alpha spectrometry measurements. She participates in International Laboratory Intercomparison projects to certify Natural Certified Reference Materials (CRM) based on consensus approaches for the radionuclide composition determined by comparison projects’ participants.

She is actively involved in two Proficiency Testing (PT) Programs: Radiological Traceability Program (RTP) with the DOE Reference Laboratory, the Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory (RESL); and NIST Radiochemistry Intercomparison Program (NRIP) by preparing and characterizing performance testing materials and conducting measurement traceability evaluations of participating radianalytical laboratories

Svetlana Nour was awarded the Department of Commerce Silver Medal Award in 2019 for contribution to the effort of developing novel detector technology within a multi-agency team to demonstrate its applicability for remote real-time monitoring of nuclear reactors and the Bronze Medal in 2020 for contributions in establishing worldwide confidence in advanced techniques to quantify radioactive contamination in food following a radiological disaster.