Karen E. Wright
Idaho Falls,USA
Summary
Dynamic professional with over fifteen years of specialized experience in post-irradiation analysis of neutron-irradiated nuclear fuel, focusing on U-Zr, U-Pu-Zr, and U-Pu-Zr-MA compositions. Expertise includes FR-MOX, light water UO2, and TRISO fuels, providing a comprehensive understanding of diverse fuel types. A significant discovery revealed that radial Pu concentration in irradiated U-Pu-Zr varies by a factor of approximately three across the radius, challenging existing fuel performance models and emphasizing the need for updated approaches to accurately predict fuel behavior.
Overview
2027
2027
years of professional experience
Work History
Post Irradiation Examination Scientist
Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho Falls, ID
01.2010 - Current
Irradiated Materials Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA):
- Directed development of EPMA capabilities for irradiated nuclear fuel analysis at INL, establishing a unique offering in North America. Oversaw procurement and setup of essential equipment, ensuring readiness for operations. Led the design of innovative tools and methods for effective sample handling and coating with remote manipulators. Guided design efforts for glovebox-instrument interfacing to enhance operational efficiency. Drove the creation of specialized sample holders and actinide standards. Executed comprehensive safety measures to maintain compliance within a nuclear environment.
- Conducted experiments to analyze material properties for nuclear applications, necessitating in-depth research and development of EPMA methodologies for the analysis of fresh and irradiated fuels, including metallic, TRISO, and oxide-based fuels.
- Authored technical reports, summarizing research outcomes and presented research findings at international scientific conferences and internal meetings.
- Trained new employees on areas of technical expertise and compliance issues relevant to working in a nuclear facility lab setting. Mentored junior scientists in experimental design and data interpretation.
- Designed experiments using appropriate controls and variables, resulting in valid conclusions being drawn from collected data.
- Contributed to development of patent, enhancing organization's intellectual property portfolio.
- Fostered collaborations with international research teams, enriching scope of scientific inquiry.
- Conducted in-depth data analysis to uncover hidden patterns, contributing to breakthroughs in scientific understanding.
- Organized international scientific conferences, promoting knowledge exchange and networking.
Radiological Work
- Crafted and assessed comprehensive radiological laboratory operating procedures to ensure compliance and safety standards.
- Developed and tested novel radiological contamination decontamination methods for the US DARPA program. These methods non-destructively removed up to 99% of radioactive contamination from porous surfaces. These methods were patented, won an R&D 100 award in 2011, and have been licensed for commercial use.
Project Management
- Serving as INL project lead for the OECS-NEA FACE program’s round robin effort, whose goal is to develop and test methods of corium analysis and compare our lab’s results to those of numerous other laboratories to determine the most effective and useful methods.
- Managed scope, schedule and budget for US EPA projects. Work entailed developing quality assurance project plans (QAPP) and test plans, writing reports to keep the customer informed of progress and budget updates, constructing and monitoring the budget, designing, building and testing the product, to include field testing
Visiting Scientist
Joint Research Center Karlsruhe (Germany)
Germany
11.2016 - 02.2017
- Worked with European Commission staff to analyze a sample of the Chernobyl “Elephant’s Foot” using electron probe microanalysis.
- Characterized a newly synthesized PuPO4 material to determine its suitability as a reference material.
Geological Scientist
Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho Falls, ID
09.2000 - 01.2010
- Managed scope, schedule and budget for US EPA projects. Work entailed developing quality assurance project plans (QAPP) and test plans, writing reports to keep the customer informed of progress and budget updates, constructing and monitoring the budget, designing, building and testing the product, to include field testing
Patents Awarded:
- Surface Decontamination Compositions and Methods, Patent No. 7915472, Karen Elizabeth Wright, David Craig Cooper, Dean Richard Peterman, Ricky Lynn Demmer, Julia Lynn Tripp, Laurence Charles Hull. Novel clay paste for non-destructively decontaminating radioactively contaminated building surfaces. This technique improved contamination removal from around 30% (using traditional methods) to up to 99% (using this new method) for several different nuclide-substrate combinations.
- Long Lasting Decontamination Foam, Patent No. 7846888, Ricky Lynn Demmer, Dean Richard Peterman, Julia Lynn Tripp, Karen Elizabeth Wright, David Craig Cooper. Rigid foam capable of non-destructively decontaminating radioactively contaminated building surfaces.
Other Awards:
- R&D 100 Award (2011): Rad-Release Chemical Decontamination Technology
Laboratory Supervisor
Monsanto Chemical Co.
01.1998 - 01.2000
- Developed standards and methods for a Bruker wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument to accurately analyze phosphate ore, elemental phosphorous production feedstocks, and slag. Trained and supervised a group of 7-8 technicians to prepare XRF samples, analyze, and properly report results to process engineers.
Education
PhD Candidate - Characterization And Analysis of Nuclear Materials
Technical University Delft
The Netherlands09.2026
MS, Magna Cum Laude - Geology
Idaho State University
Pocatello, ID01.1998
BS, Magna Cum Laude - Geology
Idaho State University
Pocatello, ID01.1997
Skills
- Research and experiment management
- Data analysis, presentation, and publication
- Development and implementation of safety processes
- Helping clients understand how to understand and use data for fuel qualification
Affiliations
- Symposia Organized
- Atalante, 2024, International Advisory Committee
- Nuclear Materials Analysis Symposium for Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2014
- Session Chair
- Atalante 2024
- Nuclear Materials (NuMAT), 2022
- Microscopy and Microanalysis (M&M), 2014
- Affiliations
- Microanalysis Society (Membership Chair, 2013-2016)
- European Microbeam Analysis Society
Timeline
Visiting Scientist
Joint Research Center Karlsruhe (Germany)
11.2016 - 02.2017
Post Irradiation Examination Scientist
Idaho National Laboratory
01.2010 - Current
Geological Scientist
Idaho National Laboratory
09.2000 - 01.2010
Laboratory Supervisor
Monsanto Chemical Co.
01.1998 - 01.2000
MS, Magna Cum Laude - Geology
Idaho State University
BS, Magna Cum Laude - Geology
Idaho State University
PhD Candidate - Characterization And Analysis of Nuclear Materials
Technical University Delft
HONORS & AWARDS
Sigma Xi Honorary Scientific Research Society (April, 1996), Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society (April, 1989)
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
- Mika M., Wright K., Probert A., Capriotti L., Tonks M., Aitkaliyeva A. (2026), Plutonium migration and phase evolution in irradiated U-Pu-Zr metallic fuels: An integrated EPMA-SEM-TEM study, J Nucl Matr, DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2026.156657
- Adkins C., Goodson M., Meyer M., Wright K., Hisle E., Yao T., Capriotti L., Aitkaliyeva A., Pavlov T. (2026) Modern measurement of local radial thermal conductivity of irradiated He-bonded U-10 wt.% Zr annular fuel: A cross-correlative study with electron probe microanalysis techniques, J Nucl Mater, DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2026.156487
- Chen D., Burns J., Wright K.E., Salvato D., Yao T., Capriotti L. (2025) Transmission Electron Microscopy Characterization of Fuel Cladding Chemical Interaction between Minor Actinides bearing U-Pu-Zr Fuel and AIM1 Cladding, J Nucl Mater, 155667
- Wright K.E., Lecrivain L., Pincock C., Coleman M., Wiscaver P., Barker B., Albuquerque L., Capriotti L., Aitkaliyeva A., (2024), Exploring constituent redistribution in irradiated U-19Pu-14Zr fuel via Electron Probe Microanalysis, in pre-proof, J Nucl Mater, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155411
- Wright K.E., Adkins C., (2023), Electron probe microanalysis of UO2 for stoichiometry determination, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, v. 1324, EMAS Workshop—17th European Workshop on Modern Developments and Applications in Microbeam Analysis 07/05/2023-11-05-2023 Krakow, Poland
- Cappia F., Wright K., Frazer D., Bawane K., Kombaiah B., Williams W., Finkeldei S., Teng F., Giglio J., Cnibiz M.N., Hilton B., Strumpell J., Daum R., Yueh K., Jensen C., Wachs D., (2022), Detailed characterization of a PWR fuel rod at high burnup in support of LOCA testing, J Nucl Mater, 153881 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.153881
- Wright K.E., Stempien J., van Rooyen, I.J., (2022), EPMA-Based Mass Balance Method for Quantitative Fission Product Distribution Comparison between TRISO Particles, MRS Advances, DOI: 10.1557/s43580-021-00166-2
- Wright K.E., Stempien J., Jiang W., van Rooyen, I.J., (2022) Fission product distribution in irradiated safety-tested and as-irradiated AGR-2 TRISO particles, J Nucl Mater, 153468 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153468
- DiLemma F.G., Wright K.E., Capriotti L., Zabriskie A.X., Winston A.J., Jensen C.B., Wachs D.M., 2020, Investigation of fuel microstructure at the top of a metallic pin after a reactor overpower experiment, J Nucl Mater, 152771 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152772
- Benson M.T., Harp J.M., Xie Y., Yao T., Tolman K.R., Wright K.E., King J.A., Hawari A.I., Cai Q., 2020, Out-of-pile and post-irradiated examination of lanthanide and lanthanide-palladium interactions for metallic fuel, J Nucl Mater, 152727 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152727
- Wright K.E., van Rooyen I.J., 2020, Fission product distribution in irradiated safety-tested and non-safety-tested AGR-2 TRISO particles, IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 891 012024
- Wright K.E., Harp J.M, Capriotti L., 2019, Electron probe microanalysis of irradiated FUTURIX-FTA U-Pu-Zr alloy with added minor actinides, J Nucl Mater, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151745
- Parrish R.J., Wright K.E., Winston A.J., McKinney C., Aitkaliyeva A., 2019, Characterization of solid fission products in 13.7% FIMA MOX fuel using electron microscopy, J Nucl Mater, 524, 67-79, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.06.042
- Wright K.E., Popa K., Poeml P., 2018, Synthesis and characterisation of PuPO4—a potential analytical standard for EPMA actinide quantification, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Volume 304, conference 1
- Wright K.E., van Rooyen I.J., 2016, Electron Probe Microanalysis of Irradiated and 1600C Safety-Tested AGR-1 TRISO Fuel Particles with Low and High Retained 110mAg, 2016 American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting and Nuclear Technology Expo, Conference for High Temperature Gas Reactors
- Wright K.E., van Rooyen I. J., 2016, Fission Product Distribution in Irradiated TRISO Fuel, Microscopy and Microanalysis, 22 (S3), 1490-1491, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927616008291
- McJunkin T.R., Trowbridge T.L., Wright K.E., Scott J.L., (2014), Integrated fiducial Sample mount and software for correlated microscopy, Review of Scientific Instruments 85, 023701, http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4862935
- Wright K.E., Hartmann T., Fujita Y., 2011, Inducing mineral precipitation in groundwater by addition of phosphate, Geochemical Transactions, 2011, 12(8), https://doi.org/10.1186/1467-4866-12-8
- Demkowicz P., Wright K. E., Gan J., Petti D., 2008, High temperature interface reactions of TiC, TiN, and SiC with palladium and rhodium, Solid State Ionics, 179(39): 2313-2321, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssi.2008.07.021
- Wright K. E., McCurry, Michael, Hughes, S.S., 2002, Petrology and Geochemistry of the Miocene Tuff of McMullen Creek, Central Snake River Plain, in Bill Bonnichsen, Michael McCurry and Craig White, editors, Tectonic and Magmatic Evolution of the Snake River Plain Volcanic Province: Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin 30.
- Wright K. E., 1998, The Petrology and Geochemistry of the tuff of McMullen Creek, Cassia County Idaho, M.S. Thesis, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho, 172p.
- McCurry M., Watkins, A.M., Parker, J.L., Wright K. E., Hughes S.S., 1996, Preliminary Volcanological Constraints for Sources of High-Grade, Rheomorphic Ignimbrites of the Cassia Mountains, Idaho: Implications for the Evolution of the Twin Falls Volcanic Center: Northwest Geology, v. 26, p.81-91
- Wright K.E., (2025) Pu Redistribution in Irradiated U-Pu-Zr Nuclear Fuels as Measured by Electron Probe Microanalysis, INL/CON-25-84644, presented at the 2025 European Microbeam Analysis Society’s 2023 conference in Mataro, Spain
- Wright K.E., (2024), Corium Round Robin Preliminary Findings, Idaho National Laboratory presentation, INL/MIS-23-76023 Rev. 1 (presented to OECD-NEA-FACE meeting, January 2024, Cologne Germany
- Wright K.E., (2023), Electron probe microanalysis of UO2 for stoichiometry determination, Idaho National Laboratory conference presentation, INL/CON-23-72374, presented at the 2023 European Microbeam Analysis Society’s 2023 conference in Krakow Poland
- Wright K.E., Capriotti, L., Aitkaliyeva, A., (2022), Constituent redistribution in irradiated U-Pu-Zr with varying U:Pu:Zr elemental ratios: and electron probe microanalysis of fuel from EBR-II experiment X441A, INL/CON-22-69700, NuMAT, 2022, Ghent Belgium
- Cappia F., Wright K.E., Frazer, D.M., Kato, M., McClellan, K. (2022), Study of minor actinides redistribution and fission products in high burnup MOX using Electron Probe Microanalysis, INL/CON-22-67272, NuMAT, 2022, Ghent Belgium
- Wright K.E., DiLemma, F., McMurray, J., Determining Mass Absorption Coefficients of O kα and C Kα in Uranium, Quantitative Microanalysis Workshop, Minneapolis, MN, June 25, 2019
- Wright K.E., Van Rooyen, I.J., Electron Probe Microanalysis of Non-Safety Tested and Safety Tested Irradiated TRISO AGR-2 Nuclear Fuel, European Microbeam Society, Trondheim, Norway, May 21, 2019.
- Squires, L.H., Hartmann, T., Wright K.E., Fig, M.K., O’Holleran, T.P., Kennedy, J.R., 2012, Integration of Microfocus XRD with Scanning Electron Microscopy, Electron Probe Microanalysis, and Scanning Thermal Diffusivity Microscopy, ICDD X-Ray Conference
- Wright K., Fujita, Y., Henriksen, J., Spycher, N., Conrad, M., 2010, Investigations of the Influence of Microbial Cells on Phosphate Mineral Precipitation, Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 74 (12) A1142
- Wright K.E., Fujita Y., Janney, D.E., 2009, Induced precipitation of apatite as a strategy to reduce Sr-90 mobility in the subsurface, ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 237
- Demkowicz, P.A., Petti, D.A., Wright K., 2006, Fission Product Interactions with Carbides and Nitrides, Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, 94, 720-721
- Porter D.L., Adkins, C.A., Wright K.E., Squires L.N., Trowbridge T.L., Cowan B., Hilton B., Root J., 2025, Material Characterization Report of EBR II Mark IV Fuel Element, INL/RPT-25-88203
- Wright K.E., Hoover R.O. (2024), UN-SiC TRISO Post Irradiation Examination Developmental Work, INL/RPT-24-78550
- Wright K.E., Chiurazzi W.C., Evans G.S., Marshall M.C., Poudel N., Trowbridge T.L., Newell B.S., Mauseth T.J., Yao T. (2024) OECD-NEA FACE Round Robin Final Report, Idaho National Laboratory Report INL/RPT-24-82550
- Wright K.E., (2023) OECD-NEA FACE Round Robin Interim Report, Idaho National Laboratory Report, INL/RPT-23-74874
- Keiser Jr., D., Jue, J., Gan, J., Miller, B.D., Robinson, A., He, L., Wright K.E., Aitkaliyeva, A., Perez, E., 2015, Post irradiation examination of U-Mo monolithic fuels: results of electron microscopy analysis and other techniques, Idaho National Laboratory Report INL/MIS-15-37312
- Van Rooyen, I.J., Lillo T.M., Wen, H., Wright K.E., Madden, J., Aguilar, J., Advanced Electron Microscopy and Micro analytical technique development and application for irradiated TRISO coated particles from the AGR-1 Experiment, Idaho National Laboratory Report, INL/EXT-15-36281
- Wright K.E., Costantini, R., INL SX100R On-Site Performance Testing, 2011, Idaho National Laboratory Report, INL/MIS-11-22217.
- Wright K.E., Demmer, R., 2011, Rad-Release Decontamination Technology, Idaho National Laboratory Report, INL/MIS-11-21185.
- Wright K.E., Peterman, D., Demmer, R., Tripp, Julia, 2007, Unvalidated Laboratory Results for “Capture and Collection of Radioactive Contamination on Building Exteriors”, Idaho National Laboratory Report, INL/EXT-07-12845.
- Demkowicz, P.A., Wright K.E., Gan, J., Petti, D., Allen, T., Blanchard, J., 2006, Evaluation of Alternate Materials for Coated Particle Fuels for the Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor, Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program FY 2006 Final Report, Idaho National Laboratory Report, INL/EXT-06-11749.
INVITED TALKS
- The Use of Electron Probe Microanalysis in Elucidating Irradiated Nuclear Fuel Behavior (McMaster University Workshop for Nuclear Material Analysis (April, 2025)
- Cameca Webinar: Electron Probe Microanalysis of Irradiated Materials: Challenges and Solutions (February, 2024)
- Electron Probe Microanalysis of Actinide Elements: Our Past, Present, and Future (Microscopy and Microanalysis, Aug.7, 2019)
- Electron Probe Microanalysis of FUTURIX-FTA Sample DOE 1: Examination of Irradiated Metallic Transmutation Fuel, (presented at Canada Nuclear Laboratory, Chalk River, Canada)
- The Irradiated Materials Characterization Laboratory—Current Capabilities and Recent Results (Materials Science and Technology, Oct, 2017)