Kenan Ünlü has been selected by the National Academy of Sciences to serve on a review committee for the Center for Neutron research. Credit: Penn State
Kenan Ünlü selected as review panel member by National Academy of Sciences
March 10, 2025
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Kenan Ünlü, director of the Radiation Science and Engineering Center and professor of nuclear engineering, has been named a member of the Laboratory Assessments Board by the National Academy of Sciences for Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Center for Neutron Research.
As a member of the review panel, Ünlü will contribute to an independent review of the scientific and technical work performed by NIST, according to the panel’s website. This group of highly regarded researchers from the U.S. and Europe is responsible for assessing and improving the center’s programs, personnel, budget, facilities, instrumentation and operations.
The Center for Neutron Research offers its members resources to make scientific breakthroughs in neutron research, providing thermal and cold neutron beam instrumentation among other technologies. Each year, more than 1,700 research personnel from around the country utilize the center’s facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with access granted through a peer-reviewed proposal system, according to the facilities website.
Ünlü’s inclusion on the review panel committee comes after three decades as a nuclear science and engineering researcher, educator and reactor administrator. Ünlü obtained his bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from Hacettepe University, Turkey, and his doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan. Prior to his time at Penn State, Ünlü worked as a researcher and faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin and as director of the Ward Center for Nuclear Sciences at Cornell University.
At Penn State, Ünlü’s areas of research interest include the development and application of nuclear methods, nuclear security and the utilization of neutron beams for the analysis and characterization of condensed matters. He has contributed to and authored over 200 publications including one book, six book chapters and articles in referred journals. He has received several awards for his work as a researcher and educator, including the 2024 President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Integration and the Radiation Science and Technology Award from the American Nuclear Society’s Isotopes and Radiation Division.
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