News

Chernobyl Forest Fire Article Features Chen Interview

S.Y. Chen, master of health physics program director, was interviewed by Mic about the recent forest fire threatening the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown. Chen was contacted as a leading national expert on the subject having chaired a National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements committee that produced the first and only national guide on recovery issues from major nuclear incidents.

Chen says Chernobyl remains a time bomb waiting to explode near the exclusion zone where people are prohibited from living as it too contaminated, although a number are still defying the order. The fire events will continue over time stirring up the residual radioactivity and blowing it in any possible direction.

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Illinois Tech Has a Strong Showing in Orlando

Faculty members and staff from the Illinois Tech Health Physics Program host its growing family at the HPS meeting on July 9, 2019. About 20 plus students and alumni including 5 sponsored under the HPS Student Grant attended the meeting. The meeting venues offered students a great opportunity to learn the profession and to enjoy the friendship.

Pictured from left to right in the front row: Jeff Reilly, Samantha Johnson, Lexi Detweiler, Hanna Bunting, Chad Mullins, Trish Hander, Valerie Grayson, Liz Friedman, S.Y. Chen. In the back row: Shirley Xu, Robert Litman, Julia Sober, Sam Schumacher, Tim Gildea, Matt Bruette, Ian Hoppie, Trent Yadro, Jonathan Haas, Phillip Campbell, Rick Whitman, Dewoun Hayes. Illinois Tech alumni attendees not present were: Mirela Kirr, Eugene Jablonski, Bob May, and Erin Evans.

Health Physics Program Adds Specializations in Radiochemistry, and Radiological Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response

In order to meet new and growing demands, the well–established Master of Health Physics program at Illinois Tech is offering two new specializations.

Health physics students interested in a career in nuclear medicine, nuclear forensic science, and nuclear waste management may now study Radiochemistry at Illinois Tech. Our students have the added benefit of taking their radiochemistry laboratory course at the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center (MURR).

Radiological Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response is our newest specialization. This program is designed to address the nation’s critical needs in homeland security and protection. Students learn to be familiar with municipal, state and federal agency protocol and be integrated into incident command regarding preparedness and response to nuclear threats and accidents.

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New Directors Appointed to Master of Health Physics Board of Advisors

S.Y. Chen, director of the Master of Health Physics program at Illinois Tech, announced the appointment of two new directors to the program’s board of advisors. The board consists of prominent professionals who are well–regarded in the field of radiation protection and health physics. These professionals offer guidance on current demands and future trends in government and industry, allowing the program to address the nation’s critical needs.

Joseph Klinger

Recently retired from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) where he spent more than 23 years as Assistant Director, Manager of the Radioactive Materials Program, and Head of Radioactive Material Licensing. He also served as the IEMA Interim Director and as Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s Homeland Security Advisor. Klinger currently serves as Chairman of the Central Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission and is a representative of the National Emergency Management Association for the National Alliance for Radiation Readiness. Klinger began his career as a U.S. Marine Corps combat infantryman in Vietnam, served in the U.S. Navy Reserve and Medical Services Corps, and retired in 2009 as a Navy Captain. He received his B.S. in Microbiology/Chemistry from University of Texas at Austin, and his M.S. in Health Care Management/Public Administration from Southwest Texas State University.

Cynthia D. Pederson

Retired regional administrator for the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). She is the first woman to hold such a high-ranking position, leading a staff of approximately 200 whose mission consists of protecting public health and safety by inspecting 23 civilian nuclear power reactors. Pederson was responsible for licensing and inspecting more than 1,000 materials licenses in eight states in the central United States (Region III). She was responsible for safety oversight of nuclear power plants, nuclear plant operator examinations, fuel cycle facilities, medical/academic/industrial materials users, incident response, and allegation/enforcement resolution. Pederson is a recipient of the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award in recognition of her service to the U.S. Government as a high-performing senior career employee with sustained extraordinary accomplishments. In addition, she uses her experience to encourage young girls to pursue careers in STEM.

Health Physics Students and Alumni Attend Annual HPS Meeting in Raleigh, N.C.

The Illinois Tech Master of Health Physics program had a strong presence at the 62nd Annual Health Physics Society (HPS) Meeting, which took place July 9-14 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Students, alumni, past and present board members, and program administrators attended the tradeshow, at which Illinois Tech had a booth, and a number of students and alumni gave talks and volunteered at the conference.

Master of Health Physics Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Illinois Tech’s Master of Health Physics program recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. S.Y. Chen, director of the program, hosted a lunch event commemorating the occasion on June 23 in the Robert A. Pritzker Science Center. Students, alumni, faculty, and staff of the program were in attendance.

The Master of Health Physics program was one of the first Professional Science Master’s (PSM) programs, founded in 1997 by Carlo Segre, professor of physics, and Eli Port, a former Illinois Tech radiation safety officer. The current curriculum, designed by Chen, emphasizes applying radiation protection principles, assessing radiation exposure and human health risks, monitoring radiological release and environmental radiation, designing radiation controls and measurement devices, and developing radiation protection measure for regulatory compliance.

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Health Physics Alum Sandor Demeter Appointed to Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Sandor Demeter (HP M.A.S. ’16) has been appointed to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), a position equivalent to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. His CNSC appointment is for one year, pending an official application/interview process, and will likely be extended once this process is complete.

In addition to his health physics degree from Illinois Tech, Demeter has a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the University of Saskatchewan, a Master of Health Science in Community Health and Epidemiology from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science in Health Technology Assessment and Health Economics from the University of Edmonton. He is certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in community medicine and nuclear medicine.

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Health Physics Society Midwest Chapter Holds Annual Technical Meeting at Illinois Tech

On May 6th, the Midwest Chapter of the Health Physics Society held its 2017 Annual Technical Symposium on Illinois Tech’s Rice Campus in Wheaton, IL.

[from left} Steve Butala, Tatjana Pannesku, Mirela Kirr, Carl Paperiello, Will Limestall, Ian Hoppie, Ian Lake, Khlud Alsiraj, John Edwards, S.Y. Chen.

The symposium was hosted by S.Y. Chen, director of Illinois Tech’s Master of Health Physics program. Chen also gave a talk at the event titled, “Health Physics at Illinois Tech: 20 Years in the Making,” to commemorate the program’s 20th anniversary.

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Master of Health Physics Program Appoints New Directors to the Academic Board

S. Y. Chen, director of the Master of Health Physics program at Illinois Tech, announced the appointment of two new directors to the program’s academic advisory board. The board consists of prominent professionals who are well regarded in the field of radiation protection and health physics. These professionals offer guidance on current industry demands and future trends, allowing the program to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the industry.

Robert Jones is the chief of the Inorganic and Radiation Analytical Toxicology branch at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There, he is in charge of planning, implementation, oversight, and completion of programs related to public health that involve non-radioactive and radioactive elements and their isotopes. These programs help enable the CDC to assess and monitor the exposure of populations to toxic and radioactive element exposures.

Vivian S. Sullivan is senior staff assistant to the chief research officer at Argonne National Laboratory. There, she provides support to the deputy laboratory director for programs and leads projects including an overhaul of the university joint appointment process.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MASTER OF HEALTH PHYSICS PROGRAM ACADEMIC ADVISORY BOARD

Illinois Tech's Health Physics Program Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

by Reno Waswil
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER, TechNews

The use of radiation by research, government, and industrial agencies, while providing many advantages, does introduce concerns about the health of workers and the general public who may be exposed to high-intensity radiation. Both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation emitted from nuclear power plants, medical equipment, research laboratories, etc. do not come without serious hazards, and because of that, such industries are in need of health physics at their facilities. A health physicist, according to the Health Physics Society’s website, is an individual who “controls the beneficial use of radiation while protecting workers and the public from potential hazards.”

Illinois Tech’s own professional master's health physics program, a program in the Department of Physics which endeavors to train the future health physicists of the world, just so happens to be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and is doing so with pride.

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Recent IIT Recipients of the Health Physics Society (HPS) Dade Moeller Scholarship

IIT Master of Health Physics students have been recipients of the Health Physics Society (HPS) Dade Moeller Scholarship for the past three years. The scholarship provided Trang Marquez (2014), Ian Lake (2015), and Barbara Fisher (2016) with funds for educational expenses and support for attendance of the annual HPS meeting, as well as complimentary admission to the meeting.

Trang Marquez (2014)	Ian Lake (2015)	Barbara Fisher (2016)

Physics’ Limestall Wins Civic Tech Challenge, Part of ThinkChicago: Lollapalooza 2016

Co-terminal physics/health physics student William Limestall (BS PHYS/MHP 4th year) and his team won the Civic Tech Challenge during ThinkChicago: Lollapalooza 2016.

ThinkChicago: Lollapalooza 2016 was a three-day program (July 27-29) for university students to explore the Chicago tech ecosystem and attend Lollapalooza. More than 700 students applied; 200 were chosen, including 15 from Illinois Institute of Technology.

As part of ThinkChicago, the Civic Tech Challenge was a pitch competition to propose ways in which the City of Chicago can use technology to address challenges related to urban sustainability, transportation and civic engagement. Limestall’s team won for an idea to introduce Chicago’s neighborhoods to Lollapalooza festival-goers using the Lollapalooza app and website.

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Elizabeth Friedman Wins National Professional Master’s Association Board of Directors Award

Elizabeth Friedman, director, professional master’s programs, College of Science, was awarded the National Professional Science Master’s Association (NPSMA) Board of Directors Award at last week’s NPSMA 6^th National Conference in Arlington, Va. The award honors a PSM program director, faculty member, staff person alumnus/alumna, or student for outstanding contributions to a PSM program.

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Health Physics Student Ian Lake Wins Dade Moeller Scholarship Award

Master of Health Physics student Ian Lake was awarded this year’s Dade Moeller Scholarship Award for graduate studies in Health Physics. His scholarship includes $3,500 for academic expenditures and $1,500 for travel to the 2016 Health Physics Society meeting in Spokane, Wash., where he will be honored at an awards banquet. Lake is founding president of the Health Physics Society student chapter at Illinois Tech and is employed full time at ChemStaff, a Chicago area start-up consulting firm, working on commercial nuclear power plant projects.

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S.Y. Chen Gives Talk on Recovery from Radiological Emergencies at Duke University

S.Y. Chen, senior lecturer in health physics and director of the Master of Health Physics program, gave a talk to the faculty and graduate students in the Medical Physics program at Duke University last month. His talk was titled, “Long-Term Recovery from Major Nuclear or Radiological Emergencies.”

In September, Chen presented the same talk at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Meeting on the Draft Safety Guide on Arrangements for the Termination of a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency. At that meeting he served as a consultant to the IAEA technical team and a representative from the United States; 30 countries participated. He also spoke on this topic at the Radiation Protection Association Meeting in Taiwan in August, at the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum in April, and at the National Academy of Sciences Beebe Symposium last May.

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Master of Health Physics Students Come to IIT for Instrumentation Course

Two classes of 11-12 Master of Health Physics students from all over the country met on IIT's Main Campus for a week in July to complete Physics 770, Instrumentation for Radiation Health Physicists. The health physics program at IIT teaches students to be vigilant in their oversight, use, and disposal of radioactive sources and Physics 770 gives them hands-on experience in doing so.

Health Physics Student Eric Galicia Wins Stony Brook University Flame Challenge

[from left] Eric Galicia with Alan Alda and Brandon Aldinger (written entry winner) receiving their 2015 Flame Challenge awards at the 2015 World Science Festival on May 31. Photo by Jimin Kim (May 31, 2015).

Master of Health Physics student Eric Galicia is one of two winners of this year’s Stony Brook University Flame Challenge. The challenge, sponsored by the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and now in its fourth year, calls on scientists to submit written or video explanations of complex subjects in ways 11-year old school children can understand. This year, participants were asked to answer the question “What is Sleep?” for the over 20,000 children from around the world who voted for their favorite entries.

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Health Physics Advisory Board Holds Second Annual Meeting

On Tuesday, October 7, the Master of Health Physics academic advisory board, appointed by S.Y. Chen, director of the Master of Health Physics program, held its second annual meeting on IIT's Main Campus. The board consists of highly respected professionals in the field of radiation protection and the practice of health physics.

Board members include Steven Bakhtiar, national expert in radiochemistry and director of DOE New Brunswick Laboratory; David Hearnsberger, radiation safety officer at Argonne National Laboratory; Susan Langhorst, assistant professor/radiation safety officer at Washington University in St. Louis; Ruth McBurney, executive director at the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc.; Matthew Moeller, president/CEO at Dade Moeller & Associates, Inc.; Richard Vetter, retired radiation safety officer at Mayo Clinics and chair of the advisory board; and R. Craig Yoder, senior vice president at Landauer, Inc. Representatives from IIT were present as well.

The key role of the advisory board is to offer guidance on current industry demands and future trends, allowing IIT's program to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the industry and strengthen its position as one of the leading professional health physics programs in the country. The discussion covered topics such as curriculum development, branding the program, student recruitment, the necessity of internships, and the creation of special topics lectures.

IIT at 59th Annual Health Physics Society Meeting

IIT's Master of Health Physics program had a strong presence at the 59^th Annual Health Physics Society (HPS) Meeting, held this July in Baltimore, MD. 

S.Y. Chen, director of the health physics program and HPS Fellow, attended and gave a talk, as did Bruce Toomire, a student in the program. Toomire and several other students in the program attended the meeting on a travel grant awarded by the HPS, which required them to work at the meeting, helping with registration, setup, and other various tasks.

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Master of Health Physics Student Bruce Toomire Presents a Paper at Annual HPS Meeting

Bruce Toomire, an IIT Master of Health Physics student, presented a paper at the 59th Annual Health Physics Society (HPS) meeting in Baltimore, MD, July 13-17. His attendance was supported by the HPS’ travel grant for students.

Toomire’s paper, “Current Issues in Waste Confidence: A Student Prospective,” included a brief historic perspective, along with current legal rulings pertaining to current U.S. Administration waste management policies. This project was conceived and developed under the guidance of S.Y. Chen, director of the Master of Health Physics program.

Of his experience at the HPS meeting, Toomire said, “This event was the keystone of my experience in the Health Physics program at IIT.” He went on to say that it expanded his horizons by enabling him to exchange ideas with experts in the audience.

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Former NRC Senior Executive Gives Guest Lecture to Health Physics Students

Carl Paperiello gave a guest lecture on “NRC: What It Is and Does – Personal Experiences” to health physics graduate students in the Standards, Statutes and Regulations class, a required course in the IIT Master of Health Physics Program. Paperiello is an independent nuclear consultant in radiation protection and nuclear regulation and licensing. He is a former Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) senior executive with extensive experience in fuel cycle and materials licensing, waste management and decommissioning, NRC inspection and enforcement, emergency preparedness, regulatory policy and international nuclear regulatory activities.

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Master of Health Physics Program Director S.Y. Chen Speaks at 2014 Gilbert W. Beebe Symposium

S.Y. Chen, director of the Master of Health Physics program, spoke on a panel at the 2014 Gilbert W. Beebe Symposium, “The Science and Response to a Nuclear Accident,” on May 13 in Washington, D.C. The symposium is an annual scientific conference, sponsored by the National Institute of Health and the United States Environmental Protection Agency and hosted by the National Academy of Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, to promote discussions among scientists, federal and state staff, and other interested parties who are concerned with current scientific knowledge and response plans for a nuclear reactor site.

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International Expert in Radiation Monitoring Gives Guest Lecture to Health Physics Students

On September 26, 2013, Craig Yoder presented an online guest lecture on “External Radiation Dose Monitoring” to students in the Radiation Dosimetry course, a required course for completion of the IIT Master of Health Physics program. Yoder, an internationally known expert in radiation monitoring, is senior vice president of global technology for Landauer Corporation, the world’s largest supplier of personnel dosimetry services, and serves as a member of the IIT Master of Health Physics advisory board.


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Oak Ridge’s Richard Toohey Gives Guest Lecture on NCRP Wound Model

On October 23, 2013, Richard Toohey delivered an online guest lecture on “The National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP) Wound Model: Development and Application” to the students in the Radiation Dosimetry course, a required course for completion of the IIT Master of Health Physics program. Toohey is the senior scientific advisor for the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center and Training Site (REAC/TS), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and was a member of the scientific committee that prepared the landmark NCRP Report Number 156 titled “Development of a Biokinetic Model for Radionuclide Contaminated Wounds and Procedures for Their Assessment, Dosimetry and Treatment.”

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New Master of Health Physics Academic Advisory Board Holds First Meeting

On Wednesday, September 18, the new Master of Health Physics academic advisory board, appointed by S.Y. Chen, director of the Master of Health Physics program, held its first meeting on IIT's Main Campus. The board consists of a list of highly esteemed professionals in the field of radiation protection and health physics practices.

S.Y. Chen Receives Health Physics Society Fellow Award

Master of Health Physics Student Trang Marquez Wins HPS Dade Moeller Scholarship

IIT Master of Health Physics student Trang Marquez was awarded one of this year’s Health Physics Society (HPS) Dade Moeller Scholarships. Her scholarship includes $2,000 to apply to her graduate studies, and another $800 to use toward her attendance at the 2014 HPS Annual Meeting.

S.Y. Chen, from Argonne National Laboratory, accepts directorship of IIT's Professional Master of Health Physics program. The announcement of his new position has received coverage in the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, and the Baltimore Sun.