Lecturer in Physics Hank Thurston earned his Ph.D. in physics and computational math, science, and engineering from Michigan State University on March 29.
Thurston defended his dissertation, titled “The Development Of A Novel Diamond-Based Neutron Detector and Quantum Color Center Fabrication Framework,” in front of a committee.
Thurston currently teaches the lab portion of Physics 100. According to Paul Hosmer, chair of Hillsdale’s physics department, Thurston has been a valuable part of the Hillsdale physics education.
“He has been a tremendous help in the physics department both inside and outside the classroom,” Hosmer said. “The background explanations he provides to students at the beginning of the lab are rich and insightful. During the recent ice storm, Dr. Thurston restored local physics lab power within minutes using only his truck and a few items from his glove compartment.”
Thurston investigated the properties of diamond and its applications in nuclear engineering. A diamond’s unique crystalline structure of carbon atoms allows it to withstand high electric fields and pressures and makes it an excellent conductor of electricity. The combination of these factors makes it widely applicable in many research fields, but Thurston specifically explored diamonds as material used in neutron detectors.
For his research, Thurston designed and constructed a neutron detector that captures neutrons at higher energy levels than previous detectors have reached. His detector is unique because it combines a gadolinium activation layer with a special diamond-based diode called a Schottky diode, allowing efficient capture of high-energy neutrons.
Thurston said neutron detectors are important because they allow us to understand processes that charged particles cannot interact with.
“Neutrons are a valuable looking glass into the natural world,” Thurston said, “We can use them to study myriad processes ranging from the dynamics of molecules interacting with cell walls to particle dynamics inside nuclear reactors to synthesis of materials in stars and stellar processes as well as more utilitarian purposes such as port-screening and non-destructive testing of materials.”
Michael Tripepi, assistant professor of physics, is both Thurston’s coworker and another professional in the physics world.
“The improved performance of Dr. Thurston’s diamond-based neutron detector (what he calls the POSSM) is impressive,” Tripepi said. “Dr. Thurston is very resourceful. He accomplished a lot of work in his dissertation and troubleshooted numerous technical issues in a short amount of time to run experiments.”
Thurston gave some advice to students who are thinking about pursuing a Ph.D.
“I would encourage any students considering pursuing a Ph.D in physics (or any other science) to really think about their motivations and what they want to get out of grad school and then get involved in undergraduate research,” Thurston said.
