News Archive

David W. Miller, Chapter President-elect

The Health Physics Society (HPS) Midwest Chapter conducted a virtual Fall Technical Seminar 19 November 2022. The seminar included three speakers on the following topics:

1. Mark Leuschner, PhD, "The Ionetix Targeted Alpha Therapy Program." Mark received his PhD in nuclear physics and spent the first 15 years of his career in academic research, focusing mostly on fundamental symmetries such as parity violation. He served as a member of the research faculty at Indiana University and the University of New Hampshire. In 2007, he joined ProCure Treatment Centers, a startup focused on building proton radiotherapy centers. In the six years he spent with ProCure, the company built four treatment centers in the United States. Late in 2012, Mark left ProCure to join Ionetix, another health care startup, and he remains employed there today. Mark is the vice president of strategy and special projects at Ionetix, where his focus for the past few years has been on building the alpha isotope production program.
2. Abe Orauqat, "An Ionizing Radiation Acoustic Imaging (iRAI) Technique for Real-Time Deep Tissue Dosimetric Measurements for FLASH Radiotherapy." During his postdoc, Abe began work investigating radiation acoustics and the use of Cerenkov emission spectroscopy for real-time beam localization and biologically guided radiotherapy.
3. Dennis J. Hadlock, RRPT, CHMM, CHP, "Lessons Learned From Outsourcing Dosimetry Services at the Savannah River Site." Dennis discussed the conversion of the SRS dosimetry system from Panasonic TLDs to OSLs. He has managed the Health Physics Services group at SRNS, which is responsible for the following radiological programs: External/Internal Dosimetry, Respiratory Protection, Instrument Calibration, Field Health Physics Support, and Radiological Facility Design. Dennis noted the challenges of converting to an external dosimetry service during the COVID-19 travel-restricted period.

The Hoosier Chapter was invited to participate in the Midwest Chapter technical seminar. Good attendance and interest were stimulated from both HPS chapters for the Fall Technical Seminar.