The HERD group’s research was recently featured in the latest summer newsletter of the Nevada Water Resources Research Institute (NWRRI). It includes a project spotlight titled “Monitoring Water Quality in the Las Vegas Valley with Nuclear Techniques” and a graduate student interview with Danesha Hunter. Check out the latest NWRRI newsletter at https://www.dri.edu/wp-content/uploads/NWRRIWaterNewsAug24508C.pdf.

Haven Searcy has always considered himself to be a “science nerd.” Growing up on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, Searcy comes from a family of science enthusiasts with both of his parents holding degrees in biology. He  knew he would pursue his own career in the sciences, though he wasn’t sure exactly what path he would take.

Finding his way to UNLV started with a campus visit when he was in high school. He later met Ronald Brown, dean of UNLV’s School of Integrated Health Sciences, and Steen Madsen, professor and chair of Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences, when the two visited Fort Valley State University where Searcy was an undergraduate student.

UNLV and Fort Valley State had an established partnership where select science students at the HBCU (historically Black colleges and universities) could attend UNLV on a full scholarship to pursue a second degree.

Now, Searcy is a two-time health physics graduate from UNLV and recently won a Junior Investigator Award for his study on nuclear radiation at the Nevada National Security Site during the Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards’ (CIRMS) annual conference in Maryland. 

This summer he’s working at a national research lab and is confident he’s on the right path with health physics.

What drew you to UNLV?

I first came to UNLV as a high schooler to learn more about the opportunities available here. Professor Madsen gave a presentation about health physics, and it really drew me in. I didn’t know anything about health physics until his presentation. He explained to us what UNLV had to offer, and of all the possible partnership programs offered through Fort Valley State, health physics was the most interesting to me.

I also really enjoyed the desert botany here. Growing up in Georgia, I always saw a lot of green. When I came to UNLV, I saw cacti with rocks, and it was all so new to me.

What were you studying before you came to UNLV?

I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Fort Valley State, and health physics seemed like the natural progression after studying chemistry. I had always remembered my campus visit to UNLV from high school and wanted to come here to study health physics.

Can you tell us about your study on nuclear fallout at the Nevada National Security Site?

Our project, “No Nuclear Fallout Radioactivity Was Found on Public Zones Around the Nevada National Security Site: A Recent Study,” was proposed by [health physics and diagnostic sciences associate professor] Zaijing Sun, one of my mentors. He had performed similar studies on radiation exposure in Spanish moss.

The Nevada National Security Site was a key location in the production and development of nuclear weapons during and after World War II. More than 900 atomic bomb tests were conducted from 1951 to 1992, culminating with the global nuclear weapons testing moratorium and subsequent test ban treaty. Out of those tests performed, 100 were performed above ground, resulting in significant amounts of contamination in the area.

We mostly analyzed desert flora, including desert bushes, creosote bushes, and Joshua trees to assess environmental exposure. Joshua trees can live up to 80 years, whereas desert bushes only live for about a year. This gave us an understanding of their different lifespans since some flora had been there during the nuclear weapons testing. Using neutron activation analysis, we ran tests, and with the help of the University of California, Irvine’s lab, concluded that there wasn’t any substantial radioactive fallout in the air or in the plants.

What was your reaction to winning the Junior Investigator Award during the CIRMS annual conference?

Honestly, I was quite shocked. There were about 15 other presentations by master’s and doctorate students from universities around the country, so this was a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t met many health physicists before that competition. It was nice to be honored by such a prestigious group.

Now that you’ve graduated with your master’s from UNLV, what comes next?

Right now, I’m working with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. I’m involved with their personal radiation detectors system, and I also work with their international exchange program. We work on preparation for nuclear events, including where it might spread, different release patterns, things like that.

Once that wraps up in August, I’d love to stay in Nevada and work at the National Security Site, where we completed our study. They have a lot of health physics-related work available, and I’m confident that I’ll be able to fit right in.

How did your UNLV experience help you plan for your future?

UNLV has helped me ever since I took that first tour in high school. Once I graduated from Fort Valley State, I came to UNLV and got another bachelor’s in health physics. I hadn’t considered getting my graduate degree until associate professor Sun approached me about it.

I started at UNLV during the pandemic in 2020, so it was a different experience than I had planned for. But the faculty have always been supportive and have taught me so much throughout my time here.

June202024

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AUTHOR:
STEVEN SLIVKA

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SECTION:

 PEOPLE

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TOPICS:

ALUMNI,  SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CAMPUS UNITS:

SCHOOL OF INTEGRATED HEALTH SCIENCES,  ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT,  DIVISION OF PHILANTHROPY AND ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT,  DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PHYSICS AND DIAGNOSTIC SCIENCES

RELATED EXPERTS:

RONALD T. BROWN ,  ZAIJING SUN

Danesha, Estafany, and Dr. Krishnakumar drove around the Las Vegas and collected water samples around Las Vegas. The sampling site include Lake Las Vegas, Las Vegas Wash, Lake Mead, etc. These water samples will be sent to UCI reactor and neutron irradation.

Haven Searcy (Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences) won the Junior Investigator Award and gave a presentation at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements & Standards (CIRMS 2024). His submitted essay is titled “No nuclear fallout radioactivity was found on public zones around the Nevada National Security Site: A recent study“. The CIRMS recognizes the importance of supporting the careers of young investigators working in the fields of ionizing radiation measurements. Haven is a graduate student in the Environmental Health Physics program, the only ABET-accredited Health Physics Program in the Silver State.

Krishnakumar Nangeelil and Zaijing Sun (both Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences), along with Colby Fleming from the Nuclear Reactor Program at North Carolina State University, published an article titled, “Using neutron activation to assess heavy metal pollution in water and sediment along Savannah River,” in Environmental Analayis Health and Toxicology.

The paper gives a comprehensive study to assess heavy elemental pollution in the Savannah River through the instrumental neutron activation analysis. The outcome of this investigation has identified a spatial trend along the Savannah River, revealing major elements responsible for pollution that could disrupt the ecological environment and potentially impact human health. This work was conducted by the group of Health, Environment, and Radiation Detection.  

 Zaijing Sun, Krishnakumar Nangeelil, Haven Searcy (all Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences) published an article titled, “Developing a Remote Gamma-ray Spectra Collection System by Coupling a High Purity Germanium (HPGe) Detector with a CosmicGuard Background Reduction Device,” in HARDWAREX.

The paper introduces the design and implementation of a cost-effective, customized remote gamma-ray spectra collection system centered around the HPGe detector coupled to a cosmic-ray veto background reduction device. Haven Searcy is a graduate student in Environmental Health Physics. 

The kickoff meeting for INAA research on water resources took place at the USDA Experimental Station in Reno. Dr. Zaijing Sun, the Principal Investigator (PI) from the Department of Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences at UNLV, Dr. Frank Yang, the Co-PI from the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at UNR, and Ms. Christine Kelly, the Co-PI from the Nevada Radon Education Program at the USDA Experiment Station in Reno convened to officially kick off the project titled “Applying Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) to Study the Increasing Toxicity of Heavy Metals in Water Resources in Clark County.” The meeting involved discussions on the environmental challenges confronting Southern Nevada due to the ongoing megadrought and population growth. Agreements were reached regarding the implementation of sample collection and neutron irradiation processes. Following the meeting, Dr. Sun had the opportunity to explore the laboratories at the Water Research Institute at UNR, gaining insights into the facilities’ capabilities.

The primary execution of the research will be led by the HERD group at the UNLV campus. The funding for this project is provided by the USDA Extension through the UNR-UNLV partnership program, contributing to further enhancing UNLV’s status as a land-grant institution.

Krishnakumar Nangeelil and Zaijing Sun  (both Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences) recently gave oral presentations at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society(HPS AM 2023) in National Harbor, Maryland. Nangeelil’s talk is titled “Comparison of GEANT 4 Simulation and Experimental Measurements of CosmicGuard Background Reduction System,” and Sun’s talk is titled “Developing a Remote Gamma Spectra Collection System for Nuclear Sciences.” Sun also served as the session chair in the instrument session of the conference. 

Zaijing Sun (Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences) was interviewed by Insider.com again and talked about the DIY underground bunker in the event of nuclear war. His discussion was published in the science section of Insider.com and titled: “How to build a cheap DIY underground bunker to protect you from nuclear fallout“. 

Dr. Zaijing Sun (Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences) recently gave a seminar titled “Developing a Remote Gamma Spectra Collection System (RGSCS) for Online Teaching in Radiation Sciences” at East Carolina State University. The project he discussed serves as a platform, especially for minority students, for studying software design, data acquisition, instrumental control, and prototype testing in real-time scenarios of radiation detection. It improves educational and research endeavors online, diminishes the needs of laboratory personnel, and significantly reduces the cost of education.