Dr. Liesenfelt’s colloquium is viewable here.
Abstract
Scatter x-ray imaging is an exciting field of nuclear and radiological engineering used for security, aerospace, and industrial non-destructive testing (NDT) when you can’t access the opposite side of an object for traditional transmission radiography. A strong university-corporate partnership was developed between the University of Florida and the Georgetown Rail Equipment Company to create Aurora Xi, a superman-style x-ray backscatter vision system to find rotten crossties at speeds of 25mph. A lean startup development model was successfully applied to simulate x-ray physics, guide development, test predictions, construct a prototype, prove the technology at full scale, and develop a first-of-a-kind minimum viable product (MVP). Customer requests and feedback guided new technology development for the high-speed inspection of newly fabricated crossties using multiple perspectives in 3D. Opportunities in advanced imaging and the future of 2D radiography / 3D computed tomography will be presented.
Bio
Michael Liesenfelt began his career in imaging, security, and detection at Nucsafe in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, supporting R&D contracts for Boeing, Textron Defense Systems, and the United Space Alliance. His dissertation work for a partnership between the University of Florida and the Georgetown Rail Equipment Company created Aurora Xi, a high speed x-ray backscatter inspection system for railroad crossties. Aurora Xi was an R&D100 award winning technology in the analytical category in 2016. As an Advanced Technology Engineer at GREX, Liesenfelt helped Aurora Xi grow into a railroad industry standard, inspecting ~30,000 miles per year. He is now a new Research Assistant Professor in our Nuclear and Radiological Engineering Department.