PNNL

Aaron Chalifoux is a postdoctoral research associate within the National Security Directorate of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. His contributions include the production, analysis, and transportation of radioactive and fissile materials at the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory. His projects include collaborations among multiple national laboratories to inspect morphological and bulk material alterations as a result of precipitation conditions and mechanical grinding.

Prior to his work at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Chalifoux received a BS in chemistry from Wayne State University in 2017, after which he worked as a production chemist at Terumo Cardiovascular Group in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a year. There, he created and analyzed chemistry strips that monitor blood parameters during open heart surgeries.

Dr. Chalifoux earned his PhD in nuclear engineering from the University of Utah in 2023 under the supervision of Luther McDonald. While at the university, his doctoral research primarily focused on stable oxygen isotopic exchanges that occur during the precipitation and processing of various uranium oxides. During his research, Dr. Chalifoux served twice as a Seaborg graduate research fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory while working under the supervision of Michael Singleton. He has also collaborated with Travis Tenner at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

• Actinide chemistry
• Inorganic chemistry
• Inorganic materials
• Inorganic synthesis
• Mass spectrometry
• Particle size analysis
• Powder X-ray diffraction
• Scanning electron microscopy

• PhD in nuclear engineering, University of Utah
• MS in nuclear engineering, University of Utah
• BS in chemistry, Wayne State University

2024

• Chalifoux, A. M., Nizinski, C., Cisneros, M., Tenner, T., Naes, B., Wurth, K. N., Oerter, E., Singleton, M., Bowen, G. J., & McDonald, L. W. (2024). Oxygen isotope and fluorine impurity signatures during the conversion of uranium ore concentrates to nuclear fuel. ACS Omega, 9(10), 12135–12145. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c10481

2023

• Chalifoux, A. M., Singleton, M. J., Cisneros, M., Oerter, E. J., Hanson, A. B., & McDonald, L. W. (2023). Challenges in correlating oxygen stable isotope ratios of hydrates on uranium ore concentrates to process waters. Radiochimica Acta, 111(8), 613–620. https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2023-0154
• Nizinski, C. A., Olson, J., Chalifoux, A. M., Kurtyka, N., Athon, M. T., Tenner, T., & McDonald, L. W. (2023). Identification and Elemental Impurity Analysis of Heterogeneous Morphologies in Uranium Oxides Synthesized from Uranyl Fluoride Precursors. ACS Omega, 8(19), 16896–16906. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c00699
• Chalifoux, A. M., Gibb, L., Wurth, K. N., Tenner, T., Tasdizen, T., & McDonald, L. W. (2023). Morphology of uranium oxides reduced from magnesium and sodium diuranate. Radiochimica Acta, 112(2), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2023-0221

2018

• Chalifoux, A. M., Boles, G. C., Berden, G., Oomens, J., & Armentrout, P. B. (2018). Experimental and theoretical investigations of infrared multiple photon dissociation spectra of arginine complexes with Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 20(31), 20712–20725. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8cp03484b

2017

• Davis, J. L., Chalifoux, A. M., & Brock, S. L. (2017). Role of Crystal Structure and Chalcogenide Redox Properties on the Oxidative Assembly of Cadmium Chalcogenide Nanocrystals. Langmuir, 33(37), 9434–9443. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b01118