Sam Hanson

Sam is a graduate student and research assistant under the advisory of Dr. Robert Hayes. He began enrollment at NC State’s Department of Nuclear Engineering in January 2020. Sam’s current research includes radiation hardness assurance, simulating and testing equipment functionality in high radiation environments, developing polymer based bulk materials for novel outer space radiation shielding techniques, and analyzing possible radiation conditions that impact satellites in varying orbits. He is working towards a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering with expected graduation in May 2024.

Sam also works as a Student Co Op with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Research. While there he has primarily worked in areas of probabilistic risk assessment and operational experience.

Sam performed undergraduate research at Brookhaven National Laboratory while enrolled in Ohio University’s Dept. of Physics and Astronomy under the advisory of Dr. Justin Frantz. There, he analyzed data from Quark-Gluon Plasma generated in high energy heavy ion collisions within the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

Education:

• Master of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 2022.
• Graduate Certificate in Health Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 2023.
• B.S in Applied Physics, Ohio University, Athens, OH 2018.

Accolades:

• 2021 ANS Winter Meeting Radiation Protection and Shielding, Best Student Paper, ”Preliminary Material Property Characterization of Metal Oxide Infused Conformal Coats for Shielding Applications.”

• 2018 Kennedy Distinguished Professor’s full academic scholarship
• 2018 OU Undergraduate Research Conference Runner Up Best Presentation “Survey of Quark Gluon Plasma and Particle Jets at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider”
• 2017 Undergraduate Research Fellow at Brookhaven National Laboratory

Notable Technical Papers and Presentations:

S. C. HANSON, S. M. MCDONELL, R. B. HAYES, “Radiation Hardness Assurance Testing for Raspberry Pi Boards,” Health Physics Society Annual Meeting, Gaylord, MD, July 23-27, 2023.

S. M. MCDONELL, S. C. HANSON, R. B. HAYES, “Optimized Novel Shielding for Van Allen Belt Radiation,” Health Physics Society National Meeting, Gaylord, MD, July 23-27, 2023.

S. C. HANSON, R. M. PUDELKO, R. B. HAYES, “Design of a Multipurpose Radiation Shielding Technology: Metal Oxide Infused Conformal Coating,” American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, Student Design Competition, Washington, D.C, Nov. 30 – Dec. 4, 2021.

S. C. HANSON, R. M. PUDELKO, R. B. HAYES, “Gamma Shielding Assessment of Metal Oxide Infused Conformal Coating,” American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, Washington, D.C, Nov. 30 – Dec. 4, 2021.

S. C. HANSON, R. M. PUDELKO, R. B. HAYES, “Preliminary Material Property Characterization of Metal Oxide Infused Conformal Coats for Shielding Applications,” American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, Washington, D.C, Nov. 30 – Dec. 4, 2021.

R. M. PUDELKO, M. A. LONG, S. C. HANSON, R. B. HAYES, “An Operational MCNP GUI Workshop,” American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, Washington, D.C, Nov. 30 – Dec. 4, 2021.

R. M. PUDELKO, S. C. HANSON, R. B. HAYES, “Estimating Dose Rates Prior to Neutron Irradiation Testing of Electronics,” presented at Third AAAFM 2021 UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, August 18-20, 2021.

R. M. PUDELKO, S. C. HANSON, R. B. HAYES, “Evaluating Uncertainty in Shielding Worth of Metal Oxide Impregnated Conformal Coatings Using MCNP,” presented at MCNP Users Symposium, Los Alamos, NM, July 12-16, 2021.

S.C. HANSON, R. M. PUDELKO, R. B. HAYES, “PVT Scintillator Compton Edge Gamma Spectroscopy in Micro Reactor and Border Monitoring,” presented at Health Physics Society Midyear Workshop, Clemson, SC, May 23-26, 2021.

S. C. HANSON, R. M. PUDELKO, R. B. HAYES, “Radiation Environments and Threats from Coronal Mass Ejection in Low Earth Orbit,” presented at Health Physics Society NC Chapter Meeting, Chapel Hill, NC, March 29-30, 2021.