NEEP Seminar Series: Alex Bocchieri, UW–Madison

Alex Bocchieri discusses high-energy radiation imaging with a single-photon camera. Seminar Abstract: Single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) cameras offer high spatial and temporal resolution for detecting individual photon arrivals. We propose using a SPAD camera to image and measure ionizing radiation interacting in a scintillator detector. Scintillation event measurements, such as position, time, and energy deposition, are used to reconstruct the radiation source in various nuclear safety and security applications. This talk will cover the multi-stage development of a single-volume, monolithic scintillator Compton camera prototype that reconstructs a gamma-ray source. It will introduce algorithms for measuring the 3D locations of individual gamma-ray events from experimental images, as well as a kaleidoscopic scintillator design. The SPAD camera enables the miniaturization of Compton camera detectors and may allow to measure complex signatures of ionizing radiation in a scintillator. Speaker Bio: Alex Bocchieri received his Ph.D. in Computer Science at University of Wisconsin – Madison, advised by Dr. Andreas Velten. He will be joining Sandia National Lab as a post-doc in proliferation detection remote sensing. Alex completed his M.S. in Computer Science and B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He performs interdisciplinary research in computer vision and radiation imaging at the interplay between hardware design and algorithm development. His research has been supported by the Consortium for Enabling Technologies and Innovation (ETI) and has been published and presented in multiple venues.