Education:

• 2011 M.S., Physics, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD
• 2009 B.S., Physics and Mathematics, University Honors Program, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD

About:

Keenan was a staff specialist working on low-background projects in the Nuclear Engineering department at UC Berkeley and at the Low Background Facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Much of his laboratory work involved low-background gamma spectroscopy of primordial radioisotopes or neutron activation analysis, much of which was performed upon samples of candidate construction materials for ultra-sensitive experiments. His research interests include underground nuclear and particle astrophysics, nuclear physics, low background techniques, radon, environmental monitoring, gamma spectroscopy, and radiation detection and measurement.

Work with RadWatch:

• Assistant Specialist, Nuclear Engineering Department, University of California, Berkeley

During his time at Berkeley, Keenan was an active member of the Radwatch effort. Among other things, he contributed to the analysis of biological samples for Radwatch and Kelpwatch, as well as nuclear activation analyses of elemental compositions of samples collected along the west coasts of North and South America.