More About the Author
Dr. Alexander DeVolpi, a retired nuclear physicist, has had almost 40 years of relevant professional experience in reactor instrumentation, experimental diagnostics, and specialized technology at Argonne National Laboratory, near Chicago, Illinois. He has a PhD in physics, an MS in nuclear-engineering physics (both from Virginia Tech), and a BA in journalism (from Washington and Lee), as well as being a graduate of the International School of Nuclear Science and Engineering (at Argonne).
His research and development work in reactor safety grew in part from active military service in the U.S. Navy, followed by assignments as a Reservist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC, and the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory in San Francisco. This affiliation lead to specific applications in reactor-safety research and instrumentation later developed and utilized at the Idaho Nuclear Engineering Laboratory.
Several now-expired patents in reactor safety and instrumentation were granted, and numerous technical papers describe his work in reactor physics, radiation instruments, nuclear safety, plutonium nonproliferation, and material diagnostics. In later years, he moved on to applications involving arms control and treaty verification, which included technical assignments from the Defense Nuclear Agency and professional collaboration with many non-government organizations in the United States and overseas.
Beginning with his first thesis project at Virginia Tech -- which involved building and instrumenting a (subcritical) nuclear reactor -- and subsequently in his entire professional career, Dr. DeVolpi has specialized in developing instruments for nuclear applications, as well as retaining an abiding interest in the safe and durable operation of reactors.
He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has been a long-time member of the Federation of American Scientists, once serving on its Board of Directors.
Alex has also written a revealing historical biography of his father, who was a soldier-of-fortune.
