Graham Peaslee

Research Interests

Applied Nuclear Physics encompasses a broad array of experimental measurements, and my research interests lie at the interface between any nuclear or atomic physics measurement method and materials that impact society. This is the definition of applied research, in the sense that my group typically does not develop the basic techniques that have existed for decades in some cases, but we work on applying traditional methods in novel environments. Most of our measurements are accelerator-based (known as Ion Beam Analysis), where light charged particles are used to bombard the surface of some solid material. The resultant x-rays, gamma-rays or UV-Vis light emitted, plus the scattering of charged particles can yield important information about the elemental content and distribution within a sample. These measurements have applications when they determine the presence of lead in paint, or halogenated flame-retardants in furniture, or the occurrence of per-and polyfluorinated compounds (PFAS) in the environment. Other work involves the harvesting of long-lived radioisotopes from accelerators for medical, environmental or defense purposes. In each case the successful publication of new science using nuclear physics techniques leads to societal impact.

Selected Publications

• Schwartz-Narbonne, H.; Xia, C. J.; Shalin, A.; Whitehead, H. D.; Yang, D. W.; Peaslee, G. F.; Wang, Z. Y.; Wu, Y.; Peng, H.; Blum, A.; Venier, M. and Diamond, M. L. "Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Canadian Fast Food Packaging" 2023 Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 10 (4), pp.343-349. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00926.
• Whitehead, H. D. and Peaslee, G. F. "Directly Fluorinated Containers as a Source of Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylic Acids" 2023 Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 10 (4), pp.350-355. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00083.
• Conard, W. M.; Whitehead, H. D.; Harris, K. J.; Lamberti, G. A.; Peaslee, G. F. and Rand, A. A. "Maternal Offloading of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances to Eggs by Lake Michigan Salmonids" 2022 Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 9 (11), pp.937-942. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00627.
• Minet, L.; Wang, Z. Y.; Shalin, A.; Bruton, T. A.; Blum, A.; Peaslee, G. F.; Schwartz-Narbonne, H.; Venier, M.; Whitehead, H.; Wu, Y. and Diamond, M. L. "Use and Release of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Consumer Food Packaging in US and Canada" 2022 Environmental Science-Processes & Impacts, 24 (11), pp.2032-2042. DOI: 10.1039/d2em00166g.
• Xia, C. J.; Diamond, M. L.; Peaslee, G. F.; Peng, H.; Blum, A.; Wang, Z. Y.; Shalin, A.; Whitehead, H. D.; Green, M.; Schwartz-Narbonne, H.; Yang, D. W. and Venier, M. "Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in North American School Uniforms" 2022 Environmental Science & Technology, 56 (19), pp.13845-13857. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02111.
• Lin, W.; Wilkinson, J. T.; Barrett, K. E.; Barnhart, T. E.; Gott, M.; Becker, K. V.; Clark, A. M.; Miller, A.; Brown, G.; DeLuca, M.; Bartsch, R.; Peaslee, G. F. and Engle, J. W. "Excitation Function of Fe-54(P,Alpha)Mn-51 from 9.5 MeV to 18MeV" 2022 Nuclear Physics A, 1021, 122424. DOI: 10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2022.122424.