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September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Remembering ANS member Gil Brown
Brown
The nuclear community is mourning the loss of Gilbert Brown, who passed away on July 11 at the age of 77 following a battle with cancer.
Brown, an American Nuclear Society Fellow and an ANS member for nearly 50 years, joined the faculty at Lowell Technological Institute—now the University of Massachusetts–Lowell—in 1973 and remained there for the rest of his career. He eventually became director of the UMass Lowell nuclear engineering program. After his retirement, he remained an emeritus professor at the university.
Sukesh Aghara, chair of the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization, noted in an email to NEDHO members and others that “Gil was a relentless advocate for nuclear energy and a deeply respected member of our professional community. He was also a kind and generous friend—and one of the reasons I ended up at UMass Lowell. He served the university with great dedication. . . . Within NEDHO, Gil was a steady presence and served for many years as our treasurer. His contributions to nuclear engineering education and to this community will be dearly missed.”
Bruce A. Pregger, Charles S. Olsen
Nuclear Technology | Volume 87 | Number 4 | December 1989 | Pages 875-883
Technical Paper | TMI-2: Decontamination and Waste Management / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A27681
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A scanning electron microscope is used to investigate techniques for performing microanalysis of highly radioactive material from the Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor. Wavelength dispersive X-ray (WDX) spectrometer methods allow quantitative analysis of metallic and oxide phases in samples with radiation fields of up to 60 R/h (contact β-γ). It is found that sputtered gold provides an unexpectedly useful specimen coating for remote analysis, being easily applied and forming more uniform layers than evaporated carbon, and proving compatible with quantitative point analysis. Through a combination of electron imaging, shielded energy dispersive spectrometry, WDX dot mapping, and quantitative WDX point analysis, it is possible to obtain data on core metal oxidation, trace concentration fission product distribution, and phase composition for core temperature estimation.
