MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Blackrocks Brewery’s Science on Tap event on Tuesday focused on the benefits of isotope harvesting. This is a specific method used to extract radionuclides generated as byproducts in nuclear science research, providing access to rare isotopes that are otherwise challenging to acquire.
Dr. Hannah Cavaleri is an assistant professor at Northern Michigan University in the department of chemistry. She spoke on the importance of this specific method of extracting and purifying radionuclides, and its benefits to nuclear medical applications.
“About 20 million people benefit from nuclear medicine every year in the United States,” said Dr. Cavaleri. “This allows us to recycle these unused isotopes in order to help society help people which is a really exciting application.” Dr. Cavaleri studied isotope harvesting for her P.H.D. dissertation at Michigan State University, and says its exciting to share this information with her students and others.
Blackrocks Brewery holds free Science on Tap events about once a month. More information can be found on their Facebook.