Bethany L. Goldblum
· ProfessorVerifiedUniversity of California, Berkeley · Nuclear Engineering
Active 2008–2026
About
Dr. Bethany L. Goldblum is an associate professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and a faculty scientist in the Nuclear Science Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her research focuses on neutron detection, applied nuclear physics, and nuclear weapons policy. She is the Executive Director of the Nuclear Science and Security Consortium, a multi-institution initiative that brings together eleven universities and five U.S. DOE National Laboratories to train the next generation of nuclear security experts. Goldblum also leads the Bay Area Neutron Group, a research team dedicated to neutron detection for national security applications, and she founded and directs the Nuclear Policy Working Group, an interdisciplinary team of scholars developing policy solutions to strengthen global nuclear security. Her work has been published in prominent outlets such as Science, Reviews of Modern Physics, Materials Advances, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. She has received several honors, including the 2020 James Corones Award in Leadership, Community Building, and Communication, and is a faculty fellow with the Berkeley Risk and Security Laboratory. Dr. Goldblum earned her Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from UC Berkeley.
Research topics
- Nuclear physics
- Physics
- Optics
- Computer Science
- Atomic physics
- Chemistry
- Materials science
- Data science
- Radiochemistry
- Organic chemistry
- Electrical engineering
- Engineering
- Composite material
- Particle physics
Selected publications
DRYAD · 2026-03-12
datasetOpen accessThe development of nuclear reaction models for the production of evaluated nuclear data has traditionally been performed by comparing measured cross sections with predictions from reaction model codes whose physical input parameters are adjusted to obtain the best agreement between measured and modeled results. To more directly probe reaction model inputs, this work introduces a forward modeling approach to experimental reaction cross-section determination, where the most important physical input parameters to reaction model calculations are obtained via χ 2 minimization between measured and calculated observables. This was demonstrated using data collected by the Gamma Energy Neutron Energy Spectrometer for Inelastic Scattering (GENESIS) at the 88-inch cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a detection array consisting of organic liquid scintillators and high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors. Using a broad-spectrum neutron beam and a 99.98%- enriched 56 Fe target, GENESIS was used to perform a simultaneous measurement of 56 Fe γ -ray production cross sections and secondary neutron energy and angle distributions. The results of the forward modeling and inverse approaches for gamma-ray production are included here. For secondary neutron energy and angle distributions, the results of the forward model are included. Also included are a set of best fit TALYS parameters and correlation matrix representing between the TALYS parameters.
Scintillator Library: A database of inorganic and organic scintillator properties
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment · 2025-03-10 · 4 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorCorrespondingThe Scintillator Library ( scintillator.lbl.gov ) is a database of scintillator properties hosted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in a web-accessible format. It contains a variety of measured inorganic and organic scintillator properties extracted from peer-reviewed literature and manufacturer specifications. Data housed within the Scintillator Library supply an important resource for developers of scintillator-based detection systems and an aid for scientists seeking to establish connections between fundamental material and chemical properties and the associated scintillation performance.
Measuring the Response of Organic Scintillators to e- Recoils via the Compton Coincidence Technique
2025-11-01
articleThe response of organic scintillators to electron recoils is often considered to be linear as a function of energy. Deviation from linearity has been observed by several authors, though conclusions diverge as to the magnitude of and energy range over which the nonlinearity exists. To shed light on this discrepancy, the eLux array, consisting of seven high purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors, a single organic scintillating target, and a collimated Cs-137 source was established at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to measure the response as a function of electron energy via the Compton coincidence technique. Measurements will include a suite of organic fast plastics, pulse shape discriminating (PSD) plastics, lithium-loaded plastics, organic liquids, glasses, and glass-plastic mixtures.
Machine learning for reactor power monitoring with limited labeled data
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment · 2025-02-10 · 2 citations
articleOpen accessCorrespondingReal-time reactor power monitoring is critical for a variety of nuclear applications, spanning safety, security, operations, and maintenance. While machine learning methods have shown promise in monitoring reactor power levels, there is limited research on their efficacy in label-starved environments. The goal of this work is to assess the feasibility of classifying nuclear reactor power level using multisource data in scenarios with limited labels. Data were collected using low-resolution multisensors at four nuclear reactor facilities: two large research reactors and two TRIGA reactors. Within each pair, one reactor dataset served as the source and the other as the target in a transfer learning paradigm. Twenty-three supervised models were trained on labeled sequences of magnetic field and acceleration data from each of the target sites. Self-learning and transfer learning methods were applied to the top performing models to assess their classification performance with increasing amounts of labeled data. While reactor power level classification was achieved with a Matthews Correlation Coefficient of up to 0.739 ± 0.003 and 0.622 ± 0.009 with only 400 sequences per power state for the large research reactor and TRIGA target sites, respectively, self-learning and transfer learning leveraging source site data did not improve target classification performance. These findings suggest that alternative methods, such as higher sensitivity sensors, digital twins, or the use of physics-informed models, are required to enable high-performance classification in machine learning approaches to reactor monitoring with a dearth of target ground truth.
Physical review. C · 2025-04-18 · 4 citations
articleOpen accessImproved neutron inelastic scattering cross sections have repeatedly been identified as a top priority nuclear data need, important for basic science and a range of applications in nuclear energy, stockpile stewardship, and proliferation detection. For the <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><a:mmultiscripts><a:mi mathvariant="normal">C</a:mi><a:mprescripts/><a:none/><a:mn>12</a:mn></a:mmultiscripts></a:math>(<c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><c:mrow><c:mi>n</c:mi><c:mo>,</c:mo><c:msup><c:mi>n</c:mi><c:mo>′</c:mo></c:msup><c:mi>γ</c:mi></c:mrow></c:math>) reaction in particular, recent measurements have unveiled some structural discrepancies, demonstrating incongruities among themselves and in relation to the ENDF/B-VIII.0 nuclear data evaluation. To help resolve these disagreements, a measurement was performed at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory using a broad-spectrum neutron beam and a 99.8% pure natural carbon target. The Gamma Energy Neutron Energy Spectrometer for Inelastic Scattering (GENESIS) was employed to measure energy-differential <d:math xmlns:d="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><d:mi>γ</d:mi></d:math>-ray emission spectra as a function of incident neutron energy in the energy range of 5.5 to 16.7 MeV. The <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><e:mmultiscripts><e:mi mathvariant="normal">C</e:mi><e:mprescripts/><e:none/><e:mn>12</e:mn></e:mmultiscripts></e:math> partial <g:math xmlns:g="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><g:mi>γ</g:mi></g:math>-ray cross sections were extracted at <h:math xmlns:h="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><h:msup><h:mn>63</h:mn><h:mo>∘</h:mo></h:msup><h:mo>,</h:mo><h:mo> </h:mo><h:mrow><h:mn>122</h:mn><h:mo>.</h:mo><h:msup><h:mn>5</h:mn><h:mo>∘</h:mo></h:msup></h:mrow></h:math>, and <i:math xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><i:msup><i:mn>150</i:mn><i:mo>∘</i:mo></i:msup></i:math> with respect to the incoming neutron beam and integrated using angular distribution data available in the literature. The data show agreement with a recent literature measurement and evaluation from 11 to 15 MeV, but indicate a larger cross section for incident neutron energies between 5.5 and 8.5 MeV. The measured relative angular distributions are also reported and were found to agree with evaluation.
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment · 2025-12-05
articleGENESIS: Gamma Energy Neutron Energy Spectrometer for Inelastic Scattering
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment · 2024-01-21 · 7 citations
articleOpen accessPhysical review. C · 2024-09-12 · 3 citations
articleOpen accessBackground: Knowledge of the neutron-induced Cl35(n,x) cross sections is vital to the design and certification of molten chloride fast reactors (MCFRs) since the Cl35(n,p0)S35 reaction is believed to be a significant reactor poison. However, recently published measurements are inconsistent with each other and with evaluation. Purpose: The goal of this work is to measure the Cl35(n,p0) reaction cross section using a technique that is different from recent measurements. Methods: The experiment was conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's (LBNL) 88-Inch Cyclotron using thick target deuteron breakup from a 14 MeV deuteron beam. Energy-differential Cl35(n,p0)S35 cross sections were obtained via ratio with the Li6(n,α)H3 reaction using an active target experiment with a Cs2LiYCl6 (CLYC) scintillator. Results: The Cl35(n,p0) reaction cross section was measured from 2.02 to 7.46 MeV. The results are consistent with Kuvin et al., confirming a roughly 50% reduction in magnitude relative to the ENDF/B-VIII.0 evaluation. Conclusions: These data provide new insight into the role of natural Cl as an MCFR poison. The reduction of the Cl35(n,p0) reaction cross section compared to evaluation suggests that MCFR criticality is less sensitive to Cl enrichment. This may in turn reduce building and operating costs since isotope separation may not be needed.
PANDA-FES: Portable and Adaptable Neutron Diagnostics for Advancing Fusion Energy Science
IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science · 2024-05-14 · 7 citations
articleOpen accessNuclear fusion is a potential source of carbon-free electricity with many concepts in development. The Portable and Adaptable Neutron Diagnostics for Advancing Fusion Energy Science (PANDA-FES) suite has been deployed since 2021 to measure neutron yield, energy, and spatiotemporal source location at two different Z-pinch fusion devices. This diagnostic can be used at a variety of facilities pursuing fusion in the magnetic, inertial, and magneto-inertial regimes. These different regimes have a wide range of time scales from less than 100 ns to a few <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math> </inline-formula> s, neutron yields from 10 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^6$</tex-math> </inline-formula> to 10 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{11}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> , and noise environments. Neutron yield is measured through activation of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{79}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> Br and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{89}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> Y with calibrated detectors. Temporal, spatial, and energy dependence of neutrons is measured with scintillators coupled to photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). Experimental setups and data analysis methods have been developed for these conditions. Neutron yield, neutron energy anisotropy, and spatiotemporal evolution of the source have been measured.
Physical review. C · 2024-05-06 · 8 citations
articleOpen accessThis work presents the first experimentally determined nuclear level density and $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray strength function of the short-lived fission product $^{93}\mathrm{Sr}$, accomplished using the $\ensuremath{\beta}$-Oslo method. Direct measurement of the $^{92}\mathrm{Sr}(n,\ensuremath{\gamma})^{93}\mathrm{Sr}$ cross section is not currently possible, as the half-life of 2.66 hours is too short; instead, $^{93}\mathrm{Sr}$ was formed through $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay of $^{93}\mathrm{Rb}$ to excitation energies around the neutron separation energy. The $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectra were measured using a total absorption spectrometer at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University (MSU). The statistical properties of the $^{93}\mathrm{Sr}$ nucleus were experimentally determined, including the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray strength function and nuclear level density. At low energies, the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray strength function exhibits a constant $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-decay strength, rather than a slightly increasing strength with decreasing $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray energy as had been previously observed for several nuclei in this mid-mass region. These statistical properties were then implemented in the reaction code talys1.95 to calculate the $^{92}\mathrm{Sr}(n,\ensuremath{\gamma})^{93}\mathrm{Sr}$ cross section.
Frequent coauthors
- 97 shared
D. L. Bleuel
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- 85 shared
L. A. Bernstein
University of California, Berkeley
- 76 shared
T. A. Laplace
University of California, Berkeley
- 67 shared
J. A. Brown
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- 65 shared
M. Wiedeking
iThemba Laboratory
- 42 shared
L. A. Bernstein
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- 39 shared
D. P. Higginson
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- 35 shared
L. Vassura
École Polytechnique
Education
- 2007
PhD, Nuclear Engineering
University of California Berkeley
- 2002
B.A., Mathematics
Fort Lewis College
- 2002
B.S., Chemistry
Fort Lewis College
Awards & honors
- James Corones Award in Leadership, Community Building and Co…
- Berkeley Risk and Security Laboratory Faculty Fellow (2024)
- Clare Boothe Luce Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, UC B…
- Resume-aware match score
- Save to shortlist
- AI-drafted outreach
See your match with Bethany L. Goldblum
PhdFit ranks faculty by your research interests, methods, and publications — grounded in their actual work, not templates.
- Free to start
- No credit card
- 30-second signup