Dawn Shaughnessy

Last updated
Dawn Shaughnessy
Dawn Shaughnessy Women @ Energy.jpg
Shaughnessy in 2013
Born
Dawn Angela Shaughnessy
Education El Segundo High School
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley (BS, PhD)
Known forThe Chemistry of Superheavy Elements [1]
Awards American Chemical Society Fellow 2018
Scientific career
Fields Isotope chemistry
Nuclear chemistry
Institutions Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Thesis Electron-capture delayed fission properties of neutron-deficient einsteinium nuclei  (2000)
Doctoral advisor Darleane C. Hoffman [2]

Dawn Angela Shaughnessy is an American radiochemist and principal investigator of the heavy element group at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. [3] She was involved in the discovery of five superheavy elements with atomic numbers 114 to 118. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Shaughnessy wanted to be a doctor as a child but became interested in science at middle school [4] and studied at El Segundo High School. [5] She earned her bachelor's in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1993. [6] She joined Darleane C. Hoffman's group for her doctoral studies, and completed her PhD [2] at the UC Berkeley College of Chemistry in 2000. [7] [8] Her thesis investigated the delayed fission of einsteinium. [2] [6] She won an award recognising her strength in graduate instruction. [6]

Research

Shaughnessy joined the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2000, working under Heino Nitsche. [6] As part of a United States Department of Energy effort to clean up nuclear materials in the environment, Shaughnessy studied how plutonium interacts with manganese-bearing minerals. [6] She joined the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2002. [4]

In 2012 her group received a $5,000 grant which they donated to the Livermore High School department of chemistry. [7] She was appointed group leader of the experimental nuclear and radiochemistry group in 2013. [9] She has been involved in campaigns to celebrate Women's History Month. [10] In 2014 she was an editor of the book The Chemistry of Superheavy Elements. [1]

While leading the heavy element group, Shaughnessy partnered with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research; the team managed to identify five new superheavy elements. [11] [12] [13] [4] The elements were confirmed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in January 2016. [14] [15] As they were discovered at the Livermore lab, she named element 116 Livermorium. [16] Her recent work has included nuclear forensics – being able to identify the traces of fissile material, products, and activation products after an explosion. [17] [18] Her team are trying to automate sample preparation and detection, allowing them to speed up their isotope analysis. [18]

Awards and honors

Shaughnessy has won numerous awards and honors including:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nobelium</span> Chemical element, symbol No and atomic number 102

Nobelium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol No and atomic number 102. It is named in honor of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and benefactor of science. A radioactive metal, it is the tenth transuranic element and is the penultimate member of the actinide series. Like all elements with atomic number over 100, nobelium can only be produced in particle accelerators by bombarding lighter elements with charged particles. A total of twelve nobelium isotopes are known to exist; the most stable is 259No with a half-life of 58 minutes, but the shorter-lived 255No is most commonly used in chemistry because it can be produced on a larger scale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaborgium</span> Chemical element, symbol Sg and atomic number 106

Seaborgium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Sg and atomic number 106. It is named after the American nuclear chemist Glenn T. Seaborg. As a synthetic element, it can be created in a laboratory but is not found in nature. It is also radioactive; the most stable known isotope, 269Sg, has a half-life of approximately 14 minutes.

The transuranium elements are the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 92, which is the atomic number of uranium. All of them are radioactively unstable and decay into other elements. With the exception of neptunium and plutonium which have been found in trace amounts in nature, none occur naturally on Earth and they are synthetic.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now is sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and administered privately by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC.

Livermorium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Lv and atomic number 116. It is an extremely radioactive element that has only been created in a laboratory setting and has not been observed in nature. The element is named after the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States, which collaborated with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, to discover livermorium during experiments conducted between 2000 and 2006. The name of the laboratory refers to the city of Livermore, California, where it is located, which in turn was named after the rancher and landowner Robert Livermore. The name was adopted by IUPAC on May 30, 2012. Five isotopes of livermorium are known, with mass numbers of 288 and 290–293 inclusive; the longest-lived among them is livermorium-293 with a half-life of about 60 milliseconds. A sixth possible isotope with mass number 294 has been reported but not yet confirmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oganesson</span> Chemical element, symbol Og and atomic number 118

Oganesson is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Og and atomic number 118. It was first synthesized in 2002 at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, near Moscow, Russia, by a joint team of Russian and American scientists. In December 2015, it was recognized as one of four new elements by the Joint Working Party of the international scientific bodies IUPAC and IUPAP. It was formally named on 28 November 2016. The name honors the nuclear physicist Yuri Oganessian, who played a leading role in the discovery of the heaviest elements in the periodic table. It is one of only two elements named after a person who was alive at the time of naming, the other being seaborgium, and the only element whose eponym is alive as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unbinilium</span> Chemical element, symbol Ubn and atomic number 120

Unbinilium, also known as eka-radium or element 120, is a hypothetical chemical element; it has symbol Ubn and atomic number 120. Unbinilium and Ubn are the temporary systematic IUPAC name and symbol, which are used until the element is discovered, confirmed, and a permanent name is decided upon. In the periodic table of the elements, it is expected to be an s-block element, an alkaline earth metal, and the second element in the eighth period. It has attracted attention because of some predictions that it may be in the island of stability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ununennium</span> Chemical element, symbol Uue and atomic number 119

Ununennium, also known as eka-francium or element 119, is a hypothetical chemical element; it has symbol Uue and atomic number 119. Ununennium and Uue are the temporary systematic IUPAC name and symbol respectively, which are used until the element has been discovered, confirmed, and a permanent name is decided upon. In the periodic table of the elements, it is expected to be an s-block element, an alkali metal, and the first element in the eighth period. It is the lightest element that has not yet been synthesized.

Moscovium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Mc and atomic number 115. It was first synthesized in 2003 by a joint team of Russian and American scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia. In December 2015, it was recognized as one of four new elements by the Joint Working Party of international scientific bodies IUPAC and IUPAP. On 28 November 2016, it was officially named after the Moscow Oblast, in which the JINR is situated.

Tennessine is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Ts and atomic number 117. It has the second-highest atomic number and joint-highest atomic mass of all known elements, and is the penultimate element of the 7th period of the periodic table.

An extended periodic table theorizes about chemical elements beyond those currently known and proven. The element with the highest atomic number known is oganesson (Z = 118), which completes the seventh period (row) in the periodic table. All elements in the eighth period and beyond thus remain purely hypothetical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Ghiorso</span> American nuclear scientist

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Meitnerium (109Mt) is a synthetic element, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all synthetic elements, it has no stable isotopes. The first isotope to be synthesized was 266Mt in 1982, and this is also the only isotope directly synthesized; all other isotopes are only known as decay products of heavier elements. There are eight known isotopes, from 266Mt to 278Mt. There may also be two isomers. The longest-lived of the known isotopes is 278Mt with a half-life of 8 seconds. The unconfirmed heavier 282Mt appears to have an even longer half-life of 67 seconds.

Copernicium (112Cn) is a synthetic element, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all synthetic elements, it has no stable isotopes. The first isotope to be synthesized was 277Cn in 1996. There are 6 known radioisotopes ; the longest-lived isotope is 285Cn with a half-life of 30 seconds.

Livermorium (116Lv) is an artificial element, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all artificial elements, it has no stable isotopes. The first isotope to be synthesized was 293Lv in 2000. There are five known radioisotopes, with mass numbers 288 and 290–293, as well as a few suggestive indications of a possible heavier isotope 294Lv. The longest-lived known isotope is 293Lv with a half-life of 70 ms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darleane C. Hoffman</span> American nuclear chemist (born 1926)

Darleane Christian Hoffman is an American nuclear chemist who was among the researchers who confirmed the existence of seaborgium, element 106. She is a faculty senior scientist in the Nuclear Science Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor in the graduate school at UC Berkeley. In acknowledgment of her many achievements, Discover magazine recognized her in 2002 as one of the 50 most important women in science.

Ununennium (119Uue) has not yet been synthesised, so all data would be theoretical and a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all synthetic elements, it would have no stable isotopes.

Unbinilium (120Ubn) has not yet been synthesised, so all data would be theoretical and a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all synthetic elements, it would have no stable isotopes.

Nancy J. Stoyer is an American chemist. She was part of the team that discovered the 113 through 118 elements.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Schädel, Matthias; Shaughnessy, Dawn, eds. (2016). The Chemistry of Superheavy Elements (2nd ed.). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-37466-1. ISBN   9783662500170. S2CID   122675117.
  2. 1 2 3 Shaughnessy, Dawn Angela (2000). Electron-capture delayed fission properties of neutron-deficient einsteinium nuclei. berkeley.edu (PhD thesis). University of California, Berkeley. OCLC   892827700.
  3. ↑ Dawn Shaughnessy publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
  4. 1 2 3 "Dawn Shaughnessy, Most Creative People 2016". Fast Company. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  5. ↑ "Hall of Fame". elsegundohigh.org. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Superheavy Element Discovery and Chemistry at LLNL". Berkeley Nuclear Engineering. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  7. 1 2 "Meet the Woman Who Just Changed the Periodic Table As You Know It". Verily. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  8. ↑ "Dawn Shaughnessy". pls.llnl.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  9. ↑ "Women @ Energy: Dawn Shaughnessy". energy.gov. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  10. ↑ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2013-03-21), Meet Livermore Chemist Dawn Shaughnessy , retrieved 2018-07-26
  11. ↑ Bing, Jeb. "Livermore Lab team discovers six new elements" . Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  12. ↑ Netburn, Deborah (2016-01-05). "It's official: Four super-heavy elements to be added to the periodic table". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  13. ↑ "Lab scientists discover five new nuclei" . Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  14. ↑ Monks, Kieron. "Nuclear detective tracking the last elements". CNN. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  15. ↑ "Livermore Lab's discovery expands chemistry's periodic table". East Bay Times. 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  16. ↑ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2016-03-17), Behold Livermorium: A Quest for New Elements , retrieved 2018-07-26
  17. ↑ "Providing data for nuclear detectives". Research & Development. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  18. 1 2 3 "Providing data for nuclear detectives". Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  19. ↑ "DOE recognizes Lab's outstanding mentors". Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 2010-07-02. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  20. ↑ "LLNL team donates heavily to Livermore High". Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  21. ↑ "2012 - Inductees - Women's Hall Of Fame - Alameda County". acgov.org. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  22. ↑ "Shaughnessy inducted to Alameda County Women's Hall Of Fame". Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  23. ↑ "Researcher cracks top 10 in 'most creative' list". Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
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