PNNL

Since joining the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 1992, Dr. Senor has worked in a variety of nuclear-related materials science and technology areas. His work has focused on irradiation behavior evaluation, physical, mechanical and thermal property measurement, and manufacturing development of conventional and advanced nuclear materials. Examples include silicon carbides for fission and fusion reactor structural applications, tritium-producing burnable absorber rods for commercial pressurized water reactors, uranium–molybdenum fuels for high-performance research reactors, and materials for high-power proton accelerator beam-intercepting devices. He has participated in various aspects of irradiation testing and post-irradiation examination of materials and fuels irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor, Experimental Breeder Reactor-II, JOYO, Fast Flux Test Facility, High Flux Isotope Reactor, Petten High Flux Reactor, and Brookhaven LINAC Isotope Producer. Dr. Senor is presently the national technical lead for science and technology supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration Tritium Modernization program, the principal investigator for fusion solid breeder and vacuum permeator research at PNNL, and the principal investigator for post-irradiation examination of a variety of accelerator beam-intercepting device materials as part of the RaDIATE Collaboration. He has authored or co-authored over 300 journal articles, presentations, and technical reports in the open literature, holds two US patents, and has organized six international workshops and symposia. 

• Neutron irradiation effects on reactor structural materials, burnable absorbers, and fuels
• Proton and ion irradiation effects on accelerator beam-intercepting devices
• Fabrication of materials and fuels for nuclear service

• PhD in Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1992
• MS in Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1989
• BS in Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1988

• Organizer, 4^th Workshop, Design and Engineering of Vehicles for In-Core Experiments in Materials Test Reactors (DEVICE-MTR) Working Group (2022)
• Adjunct Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University (2021 – Present)
• Nuclear Engineering Department Advisory Council, Texas A&M University (2020 – Present)
• Steering Committee, Design and Engineering of Vehicles for In-Core Experiments in Materials Test Reactors (DEVICE-MTR) Working Group (2019 – Present)
• Organizer, 38^th Meeting, Tritium Focus Group (2017)
• Tritium Users Group (UK)
• Organizer, 3^rd Radiation Damage in Accelerator Target Environments (RaDIATE) Collaboration Meeting (2016)
• Infrastructure Database Review Panel, Nuclear Science User Facilities (2015 – 2017)
• Science Review Board, Nuclear Science User Facilities (2014 – 2022)
• Chair, User Organization, Nuclear Science User Facilities (2013 – 2015)
• Organizer, Workshop on Nuclear Energy Applications of High Intensity Proton Accelerators, Project X Collaboration (2013)
• Organizer, 31^st Meeting, Tritium Focus Group (2008)
• Organizer, Space Reactor Fuels and Materials Symposium, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) (2006)
• Chair, Nuclear Materials Committee, TMS (2001 – 2003)
• Program Chair, Materials Science and Technology Division, American Nuclear Society (ANS) (2000 – 2002)
• Chair, Materials Science and Technology Division, ANS (1999 – 2000)
• Secretary, Eastern Washington Section, ANS (1993 – 1996)

• The Secretary’s Achievement Award, Tennessee Valley Authority Collaboration Team, Department of Energy (2019)
• Nuclear Engineering Distinguished Former Student Award, Texas A&M University (2018)
• Structural Materials Division Service Recognition Award, TMS (2003)
• Materials Science and Technology Division Past Chair Award, ANS (2000)
• Young Leader, TMS (1996)
• Nuclear Engineering and Health Physics Graduate Fellowship, Department of Energy (1988 – 1992)
• Internships for Students of Engineering, Washington, D.C., ANS Intern (1987)

• Knowles, SD, DJ Senor, SV Forbes, RN Johnson and GW Hollenberg. 2005. “Method of Coating the Interior Surface of Hollow Objects,” US Patent Number 6,866,886. 
• Senor, DJ, RN Johnson, BD Reid, EF Love, SL Larson and AW Prichard. 2002. “Laminated Rare Earth Structure and Method of Making,” US Patent Number 6,426,476. 

2022

• Jiang, W, L Kovarik, Z Zhu, T Varga, ME Bowden, BE Mathews, Z Hu, L Shao, DJ Senor.  2022.  “Microstructural Evolution and Precipitation in g-LiAlO₂ During Ion Irradiation,” Journal of Applied Physics, 131:215902.
• Andolina, C, W Saidi, H Paudel, DJ Senor, Y Duan.  2022.  “Hydrogen Localization and Tetramer Cluster Formation in a-Zr from First-principles Investigations,” Computational Materials Science, 209:111384.
• Hu, S, Y Li, DE Burkes, DJ Senor. 2022.  “Microstructure Dependent Rate Theory Model of Defect Segregation and Phase Stability in Irradiated Polycrystalline LiAlO₂,” Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, 30(2):025005.
• Jia, T, H Paudel, DJ Senor, Y Duan.  2022.  “First-principles Studies of the Concentration-dependent Tritium Diffusion in the Zirconium Hydrides with or without Sn Impurity,” Computational Materials Science, 203:111158.

2021

• Kautz, EJ, DJ Senor, SS Harilal.  2021.  “The Interplay Between Laser Focusing Conditions, Expansion Dynamics, Ablation Mechanisms and Emisssion Intensity in Ultrafast Laser-produced Plasmas,” Journal of Applied Physics, 130:204901.
• Devaraj, A, BE Matthews, BW Arey, LM Bagaasen, GJ Sevigny, DJ Senor.  2021.  “Neutron Irradiation Induced Changes in Isotopic Abundance of ⁶Li and 3D Nanoscale Distribution of Tritium in LiAlO₂ Pellets Analyzed by Atom Probe Tomography,” Materials Characterization, 176:111095.
• Gilbert, MR, K Arakawa, Z Bergstrom, MJ Caturla, S Dudarev, F Gao, SY Hu, X Hu, RJ Kurtz, A Litnovsky, J Marian, MC Marinica, E Martinez, EA Marquis, DR Mason, BN Nguyen, P Olsson, Y Osetskiy, DJ Senor, et al.  2021.  “Perspectives on Multiscale Modeling and Connection to Experiments to Accelerate Materials Development for Fusion,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 554:153113.
• Kautz, EJ, A Devaraj, DJ Senor, SS Harilal.  2021.  “Optimizing Ultrafast Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Hydrogen Isotopic Analysis,” Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 36:1217-1227.
• Setyawan, W, DJ Senor.  2021.  “Influence of Hydrogen Isotopes on Vacancy Formation and Antisite Defect Diffusion in Palladium and Vanadium Metals,” Computational Materials Science, 197:110641.
• Kulkarni, S, V Gupta, DJ Senor, T Truster, A Soulami, R Devanathan.  2021.  “A Microstructure-based Modeling Approach to Predict the Mechanical Properties of Zr Alloy with Hydride Precipitates,” Computational Materials Science, 197:110654.
• Jia, T, DJ Senor, Y Duan.  2021.  “First-principles Study of the Surface Properties of LiAl₅O₈:  Stability and Tritiated Water Formation,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 555:153111.
• Jia, T, DJ Senor, Y Duan.  2021.  “Trapping and Recombination of Tritium in Lithium Vacancy of the g-LiAlO₂ (100) Surface:  A First-principles Study,” Applied Surface Science Advances, 5:100114.
• Hu, S, Y Li, DE Burkes, DJ Senor.  2021.  “Microstructure-dependent Rate Theory Model of Radiation-induced Segregation in Binary Alloys,” Frontiers in Materials, 8:682686.
• Whitman, NH, TS Palmer, PA Greaney, SA Hosseini, DE Burkes, DJ Senor.  2021.  “Grey Phonon Transport Prediction of Thermal Conductivity in Lithium Aluminate with Higher-order Finite Elements on Meshes with Curved Surfaces,” Journal of Computational and Theoretical Transport, 50(5):483-506.
• Paudel, HP, DJ Senor, Y Duan. 2021.  “Effects of Carbon Impurity on Tritium Diffusion and Helium Formation in g-LiAlO₂ Pellets:  A First-principles Study,” Computational Materials Science, 193:110419.

2020

• Jia, T, DJ Senor, Y Duan.  2020.  “Tritium Species Diffusion and Desorption from g-LiAlO₂ (100) Surface:  A First-Principles Investigation,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 540:152394.
• Kautz, EJ, A Devaraj, DJ Senor, SS Harilal.  2020. “Hydrogen Isotopic Analysis of Nuclear Reactor Materials Using Ultrafast Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy,” Optics Express, 29(4):4936-4946.
• Wakai, E, S Takaya, Y Matsui, Y Nagae, T Suzudo, M Yamaguchi, T Hirade, K Aoto, S Nogami, A Hasegawa, H Abe, K Sato, T Ishida, S Makimura, P Hurh, K Ammigan, DJ Senor, et al. 2020.  “Analysis of Irradiation Damage of Structural Materials and Design Windows under Different Irradiation Environments,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 543:152503.
• EJ Kautz, B Gwalani, SVM Lembeets, L Kovarik, DK Schreiber, DE Perea, DJ Senor, YS Liu, AK Battu, KP Tseng, S Thevuthasan, A Devaraj.  2020.  “Rapid Assessment of Structural and Compositional Changes during Early Stages of Zirconium Alloy Oxidation,” npj Materials Degradation: 4:29.
• Jiang, W, WG Luscher, T Wang, Z Zhu, L Shao, DJ Senor.  2020.  “A Quantitative Study of Retention and Release of Deuterium and Tritium During Irradiation of g-LiAlO₂ Pellets,” Journal of Nuclear Materials 542:152532.
• Jiang, W, T Wang, Y Wang, Z Zhu, L Shao, DJ Senor.  2020.  “Deuterium Diffusion in g-LiAlO₂ Pellets Irradiated with He⁺ and D₂⁺ Ions,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 538:152357.
• Ishida, T, E Wakai, S Makimura, A Casella, D Edwards, DJ Senor, et al. 2020.  “Tensile Behavior of Dual-Phase Titanium Alloys Under High-intensity Proton Beam Exposure:  Radiation-induced Omega Phase Transformation in Ti-6Al-4V,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 541:152413.
• Bidhar, S, N Simos, DJ Senor, P Hurh.  2020.  “Failure Investigation of Nuclear Grade POCO Graphite Target in High Energy Neutrino Physics through Numerical Simulation,” Nuclear Materials and Energy 24:100761.
• Chatterjee, S, MS Fujimoto, NL Canfield, MR Elmore, T Varga, DJ Senor.  2020.  “Probing the Radial Chemistry of Getter Components in Light Water Reactors via Controlled Electrochemical Dissolution,” ACS Omega, 5:13578-13587.
• Jia, T, DJ Senor, Y Duan.  2020.  “First-principles Study of the Tritium Reaction and Diffusion on the g-LiAlO₂ (100) Surface with Carbon Impurity,” Computational Materials Science, 181:109748.
• Jia, T, Z Zeng, H Paudel, DJ Senor, Y Duan.  2020.  “First-Principles Study of the Surface Properties of g-LiAlO₂:  Stability and Tritium Adsorption,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 522:1-10.

2019

• Duan, Y, DC Sorescu, W Jiang, DJ Senor.  2019.  “Theoretical Study of the Electronic, Thermodynamic, and Thermo-Conductive Properties of -LiAlO₂ with ⁶Li Isotope Substitutions for Tritium Production,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 530:151963.
• Simos, N, P Hurh, E Dooryhee, L Snead, D Sprouster, Z Zhong, H Zhong, S Ghose, Z Kotsina, K Ammigan, J Hylen, V Papadimitriou, R Zwaska, DJ Senor, AM Casella, DJ Edwards.  2019.  “120 GeV Neutrino Physics Graphite Target Damage Assessment Using Electron Microscopy and High-Energy X-ray Diffraction,” Physical Review Accelerators and Beams, 22:041001.
• Setyawan, W, DJ Senor, R Devanathan.  2019.  “Role of Interfaces in Damage Process of Irradiated Lithium Aluminate Nanocrystals,” Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 102:1982-1993.
• Chatterjee, S, MS Fujimoto, NL Canfield, MR Elmore, EC Buck, MA Conroy, T Varga, DJ Senor.  2019.  “An Electrochemical Technique for Controlled Dissolution of Zircaloy-4 and Its Hydrides,” RSC Advances, 9:1869-1881.

2018

• Lee, YL, J Holber, HP Paudel, DC Sorescu, DJ Senor, Y Duan.  2018.  “Density Functional Theory Study of the Point Defect Energetics in -LiAlO₂, Li₂ZrO₃, and Li₂TiO₃ Materials,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 511:375-389.
• Jiang, W, SR Spurgeon, Z Zhu, X Yu, K Kruska, T Wang, JG Gigax, L Shao, DJ Senor.  2018.  “Chemical Imaging and Diffusion of Hydrogen and Lithium in Lithium Aluminate,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 511:1-10.
• Paudel, HP, YL Lee, DJ Senor, Y Duan.  2018.  “Tritium Diffusion Pathways in -LiAlO₂ Pellets Used in TPBARs:  A First Principles Density Functional Theory Investigation,” Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 122(18):9755-9765.
• Ishida, T, E Wakai, M Hagiwara, S Makimura, M Tada, DM Asner, AM Casella, A Devaraj, DJ Edwards, R Prabhakaran, DJ Senor, et al.  2018.  “Study of the Radiation Damage Effect on Titanium Metastable Beta Alloy by High Intensity Proton Beam,” Nuclear Materials and Energy, 15:169-174.

2017

• Taylor, CA, DC Bufford, B Muntifering, DJ Senor, MK Steckbeck, J Davis, BL Doyle, D Buller, K Hattar.  2017.  “In-situ TEM Multi-Beam Ion Irradiation as a Technique for Elucidating Synergistic Radiation Effects,” Materials, 10:1148.
• Jiang, W, J Zhang, DJ Edwards, NR Overman, Z Zhu, L Price, J Gigax, E Castanon, L Shao, DJ Senor.  2017.  “Nanostructural Evolution and Behavior of H and Li in Ion-Implanted g-LiAlO₂,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 494:411-421.
• Setyawan, W, DJ Senor, R Devanathan.  2017.  “Insights on Amorphization of Lithium Aluminate from Atomistic Simulation,” Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 121(14):7635-7642.
• Balooch, M, DR Olander, KA Terrani, P Hosemann, AM Casella, DJ Senor, EC Buck.  2017.  “Performance Evaluation and Post Irradiation Examination of a Novel LWR Fuel Composed of U_0.17ZrH_1.6 Fuel Pellets Bonded to Zircaloy-2 Cladding by Lead Bismuth Eutectic,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 486:391-401.
• Jiang, W, J Zhang, L Kovarik, Z Zhu, L Price, J Gigax, E Castanon, X Wang, L Shao and DJ Senor.  2017.  “Irradiation Effects and Hydrogen Behavior in H₂⁺ and He⁺ Implanted gamma-LiAlO₂ Single Crystals,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 484:374-381.

2016

• Hu, S, DE Burkes, CA Lavender, DJ Senor, W Setyawan, Z Xu.  2016.  “Formation Mechanism of Gas Bubble Superlattice in UMo Metal Fuels:  Phase-field Modeling Investigation,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 479:202-215.
• Burkes, DE, DJ Senor and AM Casella.  2016.  “A Model to Predict Failure of Irradiated U-Mo Dispersion Fuel,” Nuclear Engineering and Design, 310:48-56.

2015

• Hu, S, AM Casella, CA Lavender, DJ Senor and DE Burkes.  2015.  “Assessment of Effective Thermal Conductivity in U-Mo Metallic Fuels with Distributed Gas Bubbles,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 462:64-76.

2014

• Luscher, WG, DJ Senor, KK Clayton and GR Longhurst.  2014.  “In-Reactor Oxidation of Zircaloy-4 Under Low Water Vapor Pressures,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 456:17-22.

2013

• Luscher, WG, DJ Senor, KC Clayton, and GR Longhurst.  2013.  “In-Situ Measurement of Tritium Permeation Through Stainless Steel,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 437:373-379.

2008

• Geelhood, KJ, DW Matson, DJ Senor, and CL Painter.  2008.  “Spherical Fuel Element Concept for Small Reactor Design,” Nuclear Technology, 164(2):255-264.

2007

• Henager, CH, AL Schemer-Kohrn, SG Pitman, DJ Senor, KJ Geelhood, and CL Painter.  2007.  “Pitting Corrosion in CVD SiC at 300°C in Deoxygenated High-Purity Water,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 378:9-16.

2004

• Youngblood, GE, DJ Senor and RH Jones. 2004. “Effects of Irradiation and Post-Irradiation Annealing on the Thermal Conductivity/Diffusivity of Monolithic and SiC_f/SiC Composites,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 329-333:507-512.
• Youngblood GE, DJ Senor and RH Jones. 2004. "Modeling the Transverse Thermal Conductivity of 2D-SiC_f/SiC Composites Made with Woven Fabric,” Fusion Science and Technology, 45(4):583-591.

2003

• Senor, DJ, GE Youngblood, LR Greenwood, DV Archer, DL Alexander, MC Chen and GA Newsome.  2003.  “Defect Structure and Evolution in Silicon Carbide Irradiated to 1 dpa-SiC at 1100°C,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 317(2-3):145-159.

2002

• Youngblood, GE, DJ Senor, RH Jones and W Kowbel.  2002.  “Optimizing the Transverse Thermal Conductivity of 2D-SiC/SiC Composites, Part I. Modeling,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 307-311:1112-1119.
• Youngblood, GE, DJ Senor, RH Jones and W Kowbel.  2002.  “Optimizing the Transverse Thermal Conductivity of 2D-SiC/SiC Composites, Part II. Experimental,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 307-311:1120-1125.
• Youngblood, GE, DJ Senor, RH Jones and S Graham.  2002.  “The Transverse Thermal Conductivity of 2D-SiC_f/SiC Composites,” Composites Science and Technology, 62:1127-1139.

1998

• Henager, CH, GE Youngblood, DJ Senor, GA Newsome and JJ Woods.  1998.  “Dimensional Stability and Tensile Strength of Irradiated Nicalon CG and Hi-Nicalon Fibers,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 253:60-66.

1996

• Senor, DJ, GE Youngblood, CE Moore, DJ Trimble, GA Newsome and JJ Woods.  1996.  “Effects of Neutron Irradiation on Thermal Conductivity of SiC-Based Composites and Monolithic Ceramics,” Fusion Technology, 30(3):943-955.
• Senor, DJ, GE Youngblood, JL Brimhall, DJ Trimble, GA Newsome and JJ Woods.  1996.  “Dimensional Stability and Strength of Neutron-Irradiated SiC-Based Fibers,” Fusion Technology, 30(3):956-968.

1993

• Senor, DJ, LR Cornwell and KL Peddicord. 1993. “High Fiber Volume Fraction Metal Matrix Composites Cast Under Bi-Dimensional Compression,” Journal of Composite Materials, 27(13):1312-1336.

1991

• Senor, DJ, KL Peddicord and JP Strizak. 1991. “Effects of Hydrogen on the Fracture Morphology of Inconel 718,” Materials Letters, 11(10/11/12):373-378.

1990

• Senor, DJ, JK Thomas and KL Peddicord. 1990. “Thermophysical Property Correlations for the Niobium-1% Zirconium Alloy,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 173(3):261-273.
• Senor, DJ, JK Thomas and KL Peddicord. 1990. “Transport Property Correlations for the Niobium-1% Zirconium Alloy,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 173(3):274-283.