People
Meet the Nuclear Forensics Team
An essential part of any nuclear forensics analysis are the people handling and analyzing the sample, and interpreting the results. At LLNL and other laboratories, a diverse group of people with various educational backgrounds and different areas of expertise make up the nuclear forensics team. These laboratory experts have extensive experience analyzing nuclear material samples for actual nuclear forensic casework and support numerous international nuclear forensic exercises and workshops.
To know more about who these experts are, a nuclear forensics scientist will be highlighted in the section below. We will be featuring a new “scientist-in-the-spotlight” shortly, so make sure to check back later!
Ashley Cocciadiferro
Staff Scientist
How long have you been working in the field of nuclear forensics?
I've been working in Nuclear Forensics since March 2021
How did you get on your career path? What inspired you?
I started my undergraduate degree as a chemistry major but found that I only enjoyed the inorganic side of chemistry. This led me to change my major to geology, where I got a laboratory job doing sample processing and chemical purifications for isotopic analyses of rocks and minerals. I then went to graduate school to pursue geochronology, which used the same skill set. The transition from geochronology research to nuclear forensics was fairly straightforward since a lot of the laboratory skills are similar.
How would you describe your work in nuclear forensics?
I use isotope ratios and elemental concentrations as clues to help fingerprint samples of interest. Sometimes our samples are geologic, and sometimes they are interdicted nuclear materials. The samples depend on the question we are trying to answer.
What do you like the most about your job?
I like having the opportunity to work with my colleagues. I also like having lots of opportunities to learn new skills!
What do you find the most challenging part of working in this field?
Troubleshooting lab procedures can be really challenging. Typically it is hard to understand how something is going wrong without analyzing it on a mass spectrometer. Taking the time to set up the instrument to help troubleshoot takes a lot of time too. It is always really satisfying when you’re able to fix the problem!
Any advice to those interested in entering the world of Nuclear Forensics?
Reach out to folks in the field and stay curious about science in general!
What is your favorite way of spending your time when you’re not working at the lab?
I’m an avid runner, so I typically spend plenty of time doing that. I also more generally just enjoy being outside!