Wikipedia

Laura Harkness-Brennan

Laura Joanne Harkness-Brennan is a British physicist who is a professor and Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Impact at the University of Liverpool. Her research focusses on the development of radiation detectors for gamma-ray spectroscopy and imaging. She was awarded the Institute of Physics Jocelyn Bell-Burnell Prize in 2010.

Laura Joanne Harkness-Brennan
Alma materUniversity of Liverpool
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Liverpool
ThesisA Design Study of the Semiconductor Sensor Head for the ProSPECTus Compton camera (2010)

Early life and education

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Brennan completed her master's and doctorate in physics at the University of Liverpool.[citation needed] Her doctorate studied the semiconductor sensor array using the ProSPECTus camera. ProSPECTus uses segmented semiconductors in a Compton camera to achieve high resolution single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Compton cameras rely on Compton light-matter interactions to detect gamma rays, describing the trajectory using photoelectric absorption, Compton scattering and pair production. The ProSPECTus includes two cryogenically cooled semiconductor detectors (made of silicon and germanium).[1]

Research and career

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Harkness-Brennan develops radiation detectors for gamma ray spectroscopy for medical imaging and Fermilab. Harkness-Brennan is interested in the application of nuclear physics to cancer diagnostics. She created the Science and Technology Facilities Council Cancer Diagnosis Network[2] that looks to accelerate diagnosis and treatment of cancer using advances in medical imaging.[3]

Awards and honours

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  • 2010 Institute of Physics Very Early Career Award[4]
  • 2015 Women of the Future Award for Science, highly commended[5]
  • 2024 Applied Nuclear Physics Prize of the European Physical Society “in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the application of advanced gamma-ray spectroscopy together with imaging technology and techniques to the areas of nuclear medical imaging, homeland security, nuclear decommissioning and environmental monitoring”[6]

Selected publications

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  • Harkness-Brennan, Laura (2018-06-01). An Introduction to the Physics of Nuclear Medicine. Morgan & Claypool Publishers. doi:10.1088/978-1-6432-7034-0. ISBN 978-1-64327-034-0.
  • S. Akkoyun; A. Algora; B. Alikhani; et al. (March 2012). "AGATA—Advanced GAmma Tracking Array". Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. 668: 26–58. arXiv:1111.5731. doi:10.1016/J.NIMA.2011.11.081. ISSN 0168-9002. Wikidata Q59238863.
  • N. Abgrall; A. Abramov; N. Abrosimov; et al. (2017), The large enriched germanium experiment for neutrinoless double beta decay (LEGEND), arXiv:1709.01980, doi:10.1063/1.5007652, Wikidata Q57714763
  • A. Tarifeño-Saldivia; J.L. Tain; C. Domingo-Pardo; et al. (7 April 2017). "Conceptual design of a hybrid neutron-gamma detector for study of β-delayed neutrons at the RIB facility of RIKEN". Journal of Instrumentation. 12 (04): P04006–P04006. arXiv:1606.05544. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/12/04/P04006. ISSN 1748-0221. Wikidata Q61731523.

References

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  1. ^ Harkness, L. J. (2010). A Design Study of the Semiconductor Sensor Head for the ProSPECTus Compton camera (phd thesis). University of Liverpool: University of Liverpool.
  2. ^ "stfccancerdiagnosis.org". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  3. ^ "New community of scientists aim to improve cancer diagnosis | Science and Technology Facilities Council". www.wired-gov.net. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  4. ^ Laura Harkness: Joint winner of the 2010 Very Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year, 6 May 2010, retrieved 2023-09-10
  5. ^ "Stories - Department of Physics - University of Liverpool". www.liverpool.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  6. ^ "2024 Applied Nuclear Physics prize". www.eps.org. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
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