Kalee Hammerton
Kalee is currently a second year Ph.D. student in chemistry at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) located on the campus of Michigan State University (MSU). She is working with Dr. Zachary Kohley to study heavy ion fusion reactions with rare isotope beams. Her research is focused on understanding the isospin dependence of quasifission, a process known to hinder superheavy element synthesis by multiple orders of magnitude. To efficiently study this process, Kalee is working on the fabrication and commissioning of a novel Coincidence Fission Fragment Detector. This year Kalee is working with the NPWG group at UC Berkeley to found a satellite group at MSU. This will allow her to further explore her interests in the intersection of nuclear science and policy. Kalee recently completed the Public Policy and Nuclear Threats Boot Camp at UC San Diego. In 2013, Kalee graduated from Christopher Newport University with a Bachelor’s of Science in chemistry and minors in leadership studies and mathematics. During her undergraduate career she also interned at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) in 2012 and attended the ACS/DOE Nuclear and Radiochemistry Summer School at San Jose State University in 2011.
