Dr. Kimberlee Jane Kearfott

Professor
University of Michigan, Ann Arbordisabled, Ann Arbor, USA


Highest Degree
D.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

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Biography

Dr. Kimberlee Jane Kearfott is currently working as Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, a Professor for the Applied Physics Program, and an Adjunct Professor of Radiology at the University of Michigan’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences. Dr. Kearfott received her Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from St. Mary’s University, Nova Scotia, her Masters in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Virginia, and her Doctor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her areas of expertise include Personnel Dosimetry; Environmental Radionuclide Modeling and Measurement, Radioactive Water Transportation, Management, Disposal, Decommissioning and Decontamination, Physiological Models, Internal Dose Assessment, Radiation Detection and External Dosimetry, and Applied Radiation Protection. Dr. Kearfott is currently the Leader of the Radiological Health Engineering undergraduate and graduate master’s programs within her department, as well as, the Leader of new Radiation Safety, Environmental Science and Medical Physics doctoral option. She also appointed as Assistant Professor at Arizona State University, Research Associate at Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research Neurology, Assistant Professor at Cornell University Medical School Adjunct Assistant Professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. Dr. Kearfott has held positions on the Board of Directors of both the Health Physics Society and the American Nuclear Society; and, was also the Vice-President for the North America, division, of the International Radiation Physics Society. She has served on the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement’s Scientific Subcommittee 57, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Enhanced Participatory Rulemaking Workshop on Radiological Controls for Decommissioning, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Subcommittee on Radiation Cleanup Standards of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, the Advisory Committee of the U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries, the Committee on Long-term Research Needs for Managing Transuranic and Mixed Wastes at DOE Sites, and many other organizations and committees. She was a consultant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Advisory Committee on Nuclear Wastes on low-level radiation health effects. She was an Associate Editor of the Health Physics Journal from 1991 through 2010. Dr. Kearfott is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, the Society of Nuclear Medicine Tetalman Award, and the American Nuclear Society’s Women’s Achievement Award. Dr. Kearfott has been nominated to serve on EMAB as a special Government employee in order to provide expert advice on environmental stewardship, science, and technology. She has published 11 book and book chapters, 115 research articles in refereed journals, 7 papers and technical reports and review 20 books, and 311 conference papers, proceeding and invited presentations contributed as author/co-author. She supervised 38 PhD students, 126 Masters level students, and 143 undergraduate students.

Area of Interest:

Molecular Sciences
Personnel Dosimetry
Environmental Radionuclide Modeling
Radioactive Waste Transportation
Decommissioning

Selected Publications

  1. Kearfott, K.J., J.P. Newton and M. Rafique, 2015. Sorting a large set of heavily used LiF:Mg,Ti thermoluminescent detectors into repeatable subsets of similar response. Applied Radiat. Isotopes, 95: 180-187.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  2. Harvey, J.A., K.J. Kearfott and M. Rafique, 2015. Dose response linearity and practical factors influencing minimum detectable dose for various thermoluminescent detector types. J. Radioanal. Nuclear Chem., 303: 1711-1718.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  3. Xie, D., H. Wang, K.J. Kearfott, Z. Liu and S. Mo, 2014. Radon dispersion modeling and dose assessment for uranium mine ventilation shaft exhausts under neutral atmospheric stability. J. Environ. Radioact., 129: 57-62.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  4. Whetstone, Z.D. and K.J. Kearfott, 2014. A review of conventional explosives detection using active neutron interrogation. J. Radioanal. Nuclear Chem., 301: 629-639.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  5. Shafique, B., K.J. Kearfott, A.D.K. Tareen, M. Rafique, W. Aziz and S.F. Naeem, 2014. Time series analysis and risk assessment of domestic radon: Data collected along fault line of dwellings. Indoor Built Environ., (In Press). 10.1177/1420326X14553999.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  6. Rafique, M., K.J. Kearfott, K. Ahmad, J. Akhter and A.R. Khan et al., 2014. Intercomparison of environmental gamma doses measured with A NaI (Tl) survey meter and thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) in the Poonch Division of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Biomed. Environ. Sci., 27: 969-972.
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  7. Lehnert, A.L. and K.J. Kearfott, 2014. Simulations for developing a Flag-based active neutron interrogation method for explosives detection in Sea-land cargo containers. Nuclear Technol., 188: 97-111.
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  8. Xie, D., H. Wang, K.J. Kearfott, 2012. Modeling and experimental validation of the dispersion of 222Rn released from a uranium mine ventilation shaft. Atmos. Environ., 60: 453-459.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  9. Lehnert, A.L., M. Flaska and K.J. Kearfott, 2012. DD Neutron-scatter measurements for a novel Explosives-detection technique. Nuclear Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A, 693: 195-202.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  10. Harvey, J.A. and K.J. Kearfott, 2012. Effects of high ambient temperature on Glow-peak fading properties of LiF:Mg,Ti thermoluminescent dosemeters. Radiat. Protect. Dosim., 149: 109-115.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  11. Whetstone, Z.D., S.C. Dewey and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. Simulation of a method for determining One-dimensional 137Cs distribution using multiple gamma spectroscopic measurements with an adjustable cylindrical collimator and center shield. Applied Radiat. Isotopes, 69: 790-802.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  12. Whetstone, Z.D. and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. Use of multiple layers of repeating material to effectively collimate an isotropic neutron source. Nuclear Technol., 176: 395-413.
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  13. Thompson, K.H., T. Zak, S.D. Ambers, J.A. Fetterley and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. An intercomparison study of simultaneous radon measurements using two separate radon screening tests under as-deployed conditions. Health Phys., 100: S13-S20.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  14. Parker, L.W., J.A. Harvey and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. An integrated system for the beta, gamma and neutron calibration and storage of thermoluminescent dosimeters for a research laboratory. Health Phys., 100: S43-S49.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  15. McMillan, K.L., W.R. Kaye and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. Comparison of methods of estimation of lifetime cancer risk due to chronic exposure to transuranics. Health Phys., 101: 693-702.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  16. Lehnert, A.L., K.H. Thompson and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. Application of an Equilibrium-based model for diffusion barrier charcoal canisters in a small volume Non-steady state radon chamber. Health Phys., 100: 138-147.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  17. Lehnert, A.L. and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. Simplified simulation of fast neutron scattering for an explosives detection application. Nuclear Sci. Eng., 168: 278-286.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  18. Lehnert, A.L. and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. Preliminary identification of flags for a novel algorithm-based approach for explosives detection using neutron interrogation for a simulated idealized cargo container scenario. Nuclear Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A, 638: 201-205.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  19. Kaye, W.R., Z.S. Beauvais and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. Method of estimating lifetime cancer risk due to chronic radionuclide intake. Health Phys., 100: 167-175.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  20. Howard, D.M., K.J. Kearfott, S.J. Wilderman and Y.K. Dewaraja, 2011. Comparison of I-131 radioimmunotherapy tumor dosimetry: Unit density sphere model versus Patient-specific monte carlo calculations. Cancer Biother. Radiopharm., 26: 615-621.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  21. Harvey, J.A., M.L. Rodrigues and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. A computerized Glow Curve Analysis (GCA) method for WinREMS thermoluminescent dosimeter data using MATLAB. Applied Radiat. Isotopes, 69: 1282-1286.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  22. Harvey, J.A., E.M. Thomas and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. Quantification of various factors influencing the precision of thermoluminescent detector calibrations for new and used chip sets. Health Phys., 100: S79-S91.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  23. Harvey, J.A. and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. The effects of high ambient radon on thermoluminescence dosimetry readings. Radiat. Protect. Dosim., 147: 491-497.
    CrossRef  |  PubMed  |  

  24. Harvey, J.A. and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. Reproducibility of glow peak fading characteristics of thermoluminescent dosimeters. Radiat. Measur., 46: 319-322.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  25. Dewey, S.C., Z.D. Whetstone and K.J. Kearfott, 2011. A method for determining the analytical form of a radionuclide depth distribution using multiple gamma spectrometry measurements. J. Environ. Radioact., 102: 581-588.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  26. Lehnert, A.L. and K.J. Kearfott, 2010. The detection of explosive materials: Review of considerations and methods. Nuclear Technol., 172: 325-334.
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  27. Lehnert, A.L. and K.J. Kearfott, 2010. An equilibrium-based model for measuring environmental radon using charcoal canisters. Health Phys., 99: S154-S163.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  28. Harvey, J.A., N.P. Haverland and K.J. Kearfott, 2010. Characterization of the glow-peak fading properties of six common thermoluminescent materials. Applied Radiat. Isot., 68: 1988-2000.
    CrossRef  |  

  29. Dewey, S.C., Z.D. Whetstone and K.J. Kearfott, 2010. A numerical method for the calibration of in situ gamma ray spectroscopy systems. Health Phys., 98: 657-671.
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  30. Bergen, R.J., J.A. Harvey and K.J. Kearfott, 2010. Performance of vintage direct reading pocket ionization chambers. Health Phys., 98: S56-S62.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  31. Kearfott, K.J. and S.C. Dewey, 2009. A method for the quantitative gamma spectroscopic analysis of an unusually shaped unknown source. Health Phys., 96: S31-S36.
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  32. Beauvais, Z.S., K.H. Thompson and K.J. Kearfott, 2009. Evaluation of total effective dose due to certain environmentally placed naturally occurring radioactive materials using a procedural adaptation of Resrad code. Health Phys., 97: 50-67.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  33. Dewey, S.C. and K.J. Kearfott, 2008. Calibration drift in a laboratory high purity germanium detector spectrometry system. Health Phys., 94: S27-S33.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  34. Studenski, M.T., N.P. Haverland and K.J. Kearfott, 2007. Simulation, design and construction of a 137Cs irradiation facility. Health Phys., 92: S78-S86.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  35. Studenski, M.T. and K.J. Kearfott, 2007. Design and simulation of a neutron facility. Health Phys., 92: S37-S44.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  36. West, W.G., K.J. Kearfott and S.M. Bernal, 2006. The sunlight OSL response of a commercially available α-Al2O3: C personnel dosimetry material. Radiat. Prot. Dosim., 119: 344-349.
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  37. Moore, J.A. and K.J. Kearfott, 2005. A simple radon chamber for educational use. Health Phys., 89: S78-S84.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  38. Dreyer, J.G., W.G. West, E. Wagner and K.J. Kearfott, 2005. The university of michigan student health physics society's radiation and health physics world wide web site. Health Phys., 88: S115-S120.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  39. Dewey, S.C., K.J. Kearfott, C.P. Henley and S.M. Bernal, 2005. Design of an inexpensive, flexible, shielded cave for environmental radioactivity measurements. Health Phys., 88: S110-S114.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  40. McDonald, J.T., W.G. West and K.J. Kearfott, 2004. An evaluation of the Kearny Fallout Meter (KFM), a radiation detector constructed from commonly available household materials. Health Phys., 87: S52-S57.
    Direct Link  |  

  41. Steinman, R.L., R.F. Weiner and K.J. Kearfott, 2002. A comparison of transient dose model predictions and experimental measurements. Health Phys., 83: 504-511.
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  42. Benke, R.R. and K.J. Kearfott, 2002. Demonstration of a collimated in situ method for determining depth distributions using γ-ray spectrometry. Nuclear Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A, 482: 814-831.
    CrossRef  |  Direct Link  |  

  43. Benke, R.R. and K.J. Kearfott, 2001. An improved in situ method for determining depth distributions of gamma-ray emitting radionuclides. Nuclear Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A, 463: 393-412.
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