Alumna Assists in Nuclear Cleanup

Cheryl Rofer '63

Readers of last Sunday’s New York Times were treated to an astonishing and somewhat alarming glimpse into the post-Cold War cleanup of nuclear materials in countries that were part of the former Soviet Union. In an article by Ellen Barry, “A Secret Race for Abandoned Nuclear Material,” the author details a 17-year, $150 million cleanup of plutonium, uranium and radioactive waste in Kazakhstan. The cleanup was an international effort funded by the United States government with logistical and scientific support from Russia and Kazakhstan.

Behind the scenes in this effort, Ripon alumna Cheryl Rofer ’63 was a consultant early on, when the degree and scope of the clean-up effort was just becoming clear. She worked with scientists in the United States and Kazakhstan as they constructed proposals for the cleanup of sites containing pure plutonium and highly enriched uranium.

Rofer worked at the Los Alamos national laboratory for 35 years and is the CEO of nucleardiner.com, an online forum for discussing all aspects of nuclear energy. She has written her own account of the clean-up effort, including images she took in Kazakhstan, on her website. Click HERE to read her post.

Rofer will be on campus this Fall as a guest speaker in Professor Brian Smith’s “Ethics and International Relations” class on Wednesday, October 2 at 11:15 am in East Hall 201, and all are invited to attend the lecture.


Click HERE to read about other Ripon College alumni in the news.

[retweet]


Related Posts

James P. Danky '70

James P. Danky ’70 curates political cartoon exhibit to run in Milwaukee, Ripon

James P. Danky ’70 is the guest curator for the exhibit “Pow-litical Comics: From Ripon to the RNC,” to run April 12 to July 22 […]

Mark Franzen, Ripon College Class of 1983 and Chair of the Board of Trustees

Mark Franzen ’83 to begin term as chair of the Ripon College Board of Trustees

Mark Franzen ’83 of Paradise Valley, Arizona, and Green Lake, Wisconsin, will begin his term as the new chair of the Ripon College Board of […]

Julie Streich '92

Julie Streich ’92 appointed to board of directors for Schneider National Inc.

Julie Streich ’92 of Farmington, Connecticut, recently was appointed to the board of directors and its audit committee by Schneider National Inc. of Green Bay, […]

Jodi Gibson '89, second from left, and Momentum students

Momentum students visit Jodi Gibson ’89 of the Milwaukee Zoological Society

Students participating in the summer Momentum Leadership Fellows Program took a field trip to the Milwaukee Zoo Aug. 11 and met with Jodi Gibson ’89, […]