Adam Hecht

 

Adam Hecht
Assistant Professor
Farris Engineering Center - Room 231

505 277.1654
hecht@unm.edu

Education:

  • Ph.D. Yale University Physics, 2004
  • M.Phil. Yale University Physics, 2001
  • M.S. Yale University Physics, 1999
  • B.S. Unversity of California, Irvine Physics, 1997

Research

  • Radiation Detection Systems for Nuclear Nonproliferation
  • Ion Beam Radiotherapy
  • Novel Accelerator Designs, Techniques and Applications

Teaching

  • University of New Mexico ChNE 528 External Radiation Dosimetry • planned for Spring 2009 • Radiation interactions with matter and dosimetry.
  • University of New Mexico ChNE 323/523 Radiation Detection and Measurement • Fall 2008 • Co-teaching lecture and laboratory course with covering function and limitation of semiconductor, gas and scintillator detectors.
  • University of Wisconsin, Madison Guest Lecturer for 1/3 of lectures, Radiological Physics and Dosimetry • Fall 2007 • Radiation interactions with matter and dosimetry with emphasis on medical applications, for Ph.D. level medical physics students.
  • University of Illinois, Chicago Adjunct Faculty, Introductory Physics II • Spring 2006 • Electricity and magnetism through special relativity.

Research Details:

  • Cancer treatment with proton beams can provide high conformity to planned treatment volumes, sparing surrounding healthy tissue. This is especially important in pediatric cases in which the risk of secondary cancer developing years later is a strong concern. I am working on characterizing secondary radiation produced in proton beam radiation therapy, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Department of Medical Physics. Experimental work was performedat the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute and Monte Carlo calculations are being performed using Geant4 comparing secondary radiation production from several different particle beams.
  • For mass spectrometry, most research has been focused on developing the ion source or on detector methodology - the front and back end of the systems. We are working on the "middle end", designing and modeling a novel accelerator technique which will increase mass-to-charge separation several orders of magnitude beyond current table top systems, after which reflectron and other standard techniques may be applied. This work is in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin. A patent application has been submitted.
  • Detection of covert radiation sources is of great interest for national security. This problem is made more difficult by shielding of the radioactive source, and low level radiation detection is essential. The problem is compounded by background noise. We are working on novel signal filtering techniques to discriminate weak signals from high background environments. Work is in both experiment and simulation. A patent submission is being investigated.

Selected Publications:

Please see CV