Meet Dr. Nathan Boyle

Advisor: Dr. Rusi Taleyarkhan

Institution: Purdue University

Bio:  Nathan Boyle is supported by an appointment to the Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program at Purdue University, administered by Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He previously worked as a post-doctoral research assistant at Purdue University specializing in tensioned metastable fluid detectors for addressing key technological gaps in nuclear safety and security. His research interests involve combatting nuclear terrorism, nuclear health and safety, actinide spectroscopy, H*10 dosimetry, and radiation detection in extreme environments. He was selected as the School of Nuclear Engineering’s Nominee for the CGS Outstanding Dissertation Award and received the Outstanding Student Research Award, Bilsland Fellowship, and NRC Fellowship. He earned his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in 2015 and 2020 in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University.

Abstract:  Release of chemical or biological agents in open and closed environments can create severe consequences to citizens and government personnel in the area. Plume models have been researched previously for nuclear, chemical, and biological agent transport; however, their use is predicated on numerous environmental and logistical parameters that may not be known in time for leaders to make educated decisions about response and accident management. This research seeks to integrate artificial intelligence (deep learning) approaches tied to plume dispersal and impact models to optimize and reduce the variable inputs required to optimally track dispersion during a release event. This research seeks to develop a robust model for parameters of plume dispersion including, building effects, air flow rate, flow direction, release concentration and other significant parameters.