Cheryl Rofer

Last updated
Cheryl K. Rofer
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley
Ripon College
Scientific career
Institutions Los Alamos National Laboratory

Cheryl K. Rofer is an American chemist [1] and writer who worked as a nuclear researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory for over thirty years. She was involved with the environmental clean-up of Estonia and Kazakhstan after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Contents

Early life and education

Rofer had an interest in science from an early age. Rofer earned her bachelor's in chemistry degree at Ripon College. [2] [3] She moved to the University of California, Berkeley for graduate studies, where she earned a master's degree. After graduating she joined Los Alamos National Laboratory. [2]

Research and career

Rofer's early research considered photochemistry and how it can be used to understand uranyl compounds in organic solvents. She later developed spectroscopic tools for isotope separation. In the wake of the Soviet occupation of Estonia and Kazakhstan, Rofer became involved in environmental remediation. [4]

After retiring from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2001 [5] Rofer became involved in documenting the Manhattan Project. [6] She maintains a blog on nuclear physics (Nuclear Diner) which provides a critical analysis of the likelihood of nuclear terrorism. [7] She has also contributed to newspapers including The Globe and Mail , The Washington Post and Mother Jones . [8] [9]

When asked about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rofer told Chemistry World , "Obviously, you don’t want nuclear reactors in the middle of a war. But here we are". [10] She has written opinion pieces for Nature , [11] BuzzFeed [12] and HuffPost . [13]

Selected publications

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References

  1. ↑ "Getting to Know Cheryl Rofer | Arms Control Association". Archived from the original on 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  2. 1 2 Rofer-DePoorter, Cheryl K. (1981). "A comprehensive mechanism for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis". Chemical Reviews. 81 (5): 447–474. doi:10.1021/cr00045a002. ISSN   0009-2665. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  3. ↑ "Cheryl Rofer '63 dishes nuclear energy on blogosphere | Ripon College". Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  4. ↑ Rofer, Cheryl K.; Kaasik, Tõnis (2000). Rofer, Cheryl K; Kaasik, Tõnis (eds.). Turning a Problem into a Resource: Remediation and Waste Management at the Sillamäe Site, Estonia. doi:10.1007/978-94-011-4092-8. ISBN   978-0-7923-6187-9. OSTI   785026. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  5. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryl-rofer-85956413 [ self-published source ]
  6. ↑ "Cheryl Rofer". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  7. ↑ Mexican, Anne ConstableThe New. "Former LANL chemist blogs on all things nuclear". Santa Fe New Mexican. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  8. ↑ Rofer, Cheryl (2013-02-27). "Is Iran building a bomb? A nuclear scientist says we need to look closer". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  9. ↑ Rofer, Cheryl. "Never mind the doubters: the Iran deal is good enough". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  10. ↑ Krämer2022-03-01T15:34:00+00:00, Katrina. "Fears for Ukraine's nuclear facilities follow Russian troops taking charge of Chernobyl site". Chemistry World. Archived from the original on 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Castelvecchi, Davide (2022). "Ukraine nuclear power plant attack: scientists assess the risks". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-022-00660-z. PMID   35246645. S2CID   247236712. Archived from the original on 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  12. ↑ Vergano, Dan. "A Ukrainian Nuclear Plant Is Now A War Zone. Here's What That Means". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  13. ↑ "Russian President Vladimir Putin Calls For Ukraine To Break Apart, Escalating Crisis". HuffPost UK. 2022-02-21. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
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