Sarah Donaher, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been named to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement PAC 5 group (NCRP PAC 5), which focuses on environmental radiation and radioactive waste issues.
Adhering to the Volunteer spirit, Donaher has been eager to give back to the field and expand her knowledge base since joining the University of Tennessee faculty last year as a joint hire between CEE and the Department of Nuclear Engineering.
“I really like the service role of our jobs on NCRP PAC 5, and it’s a really unique mix of research and service,” said Donaher, an environmental engineer and radioecologist who studies the mobility and bioavailability of radioactive metals and contaminants in the environment. “Part of why I love this field is that it’s very international. We really work across different countries and groups to provide the best state-of-the art radiation protection that we can come up with.”
Along with her new role on NCRP PAC 5, Donaher has been serving on the task group for the International Commission on Radiological Protection since she was a PhD student at Clemson University. She hosted 12 members from the group on the UT campus last January for a three-day meeting. The group worked on its guidance document, where members look at how to use ecosystem services to bridge human and environmental radiological protection.
Donaher is one of the few people in both groups who has experience in both ecology and radiation protection. She hopes her youthful presence can help bring fresh ideas while also preserving the industry’s historical wisdom.
“We have a big problem with the aging workforce and losing expertise,” Donaher said. “I’m really just trying to soak up all the expertise I can get, because there’s a whole generation of radioecologists and environmental health physicists that are retiring and taking their knowledge with them and not leaving behind fully trained people to take their place. I want to pass it along to others.”
Making UT a Hub
At UT, Donaher runs one of a handful of radioecology labs in the country. Her goal is to make the university a leader in the field for research and learning.
“I really want UT to be known as one of the environmental radiation protection hubs,” Donaher said. “We have a real opportunity to establish ourselves, especially because East Tennessee is the site of the nuclear renaissance. I want us to be known as a radioecology and environmental radiation protection powerhouse.”
Donaher credits CEE Department Head Chris Cox and former NE Department Head Wes Hines for having the vision to create her faculty position at UT given the importance of nuclear energy and protecting the environment.
“They’ve been pushing for this position for a long time,” Donaher said. “They saw that this was a need, and they saw that UT was very uniquely positioned to lead something like this, because of where we’re located, our economy, and our support structure being so strong.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (rpotkey@utk.edu)