Ani Aprahamian

{{Short description|Lebanese-born Armenian-American nuclear physicist}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Ani Aprahamian | image =  | image_size = | caption = | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{birth date and age |1958|08|15}}<ref name="sci.am"/> | birth_place = Lebanon | death_date =  | death_place = | resting_place = | citizenship = | fields = Nuclear physics, astrophysics<ref name="sci.am"/><ref name="nd.edu1"/> | workplaces = University of Notre Dame | education = Clark University (PhD, 1986)<br>Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory | alma_mater = | thesis_title =  | thesis_url =  | thesis_year =  | doctoral_advisor =  | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | signature =  | website = {{URL|https://physics.nd.edu/people/faculty/ani-aprahamian/}} }}

'''Ani Aprahamian''' (born August 15, 1958) is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American nuclear physicist.<ref name="WomenLead"/> She has taught at the University of Notre Dame since 1989. She is currently Freimann Professor of Physics at Notre Dame.<ref name="nd.eduArm"/><ref name="science.osti.gov"/> She has been director of the Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute) in Armenia since April 2018, the first woman to hold the position.<ref name="mirrorspectator"/>

==Background== Aprahamian was born on August 15, 1958<ref name="sci.am"/> in Lebanon to Armenian parents.<ref name="mirrorspectator"/> All of her grandparents were survivors of the Armenian genocide,<ref name="mirrorspectator"/><ref name="naasr"/> while her parents were born in refugee camps in Beirut.<ref name="nd.eduArm"/> Her family moved to the United States when she was 11 and settled in Massachusetts.<ref name="WomenLead"/> Her father worked as a tailor, while her mother a seamstress.<ref name="WomenLead"/> She was interested in science as a young kid, but initially wanted to become an ambassador, but was persuaded by a high school guidance counselor in Worcester, Massachusetts to get an education in science.<ref name="WomenLead"/> She speaks Armenian.<ref>{{cite web |title=After Midnight: Ani Aprahamyan |url=https://www.1tv.am/en/video/After-Midnight-Ani-Aprahamyan/126705 |website=1tv.am |publisher=Public Television of Armenia |date=29 May 2019}}</ref>

She obtained her BA from Clark University in 1980 and PhD in nuclear chemistry in 1986.<ref name="nd.edu1"/><ref name="science.osti.gov"/> She was a postdoctoral fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.<ref name="science.osti.gov"/>

==Career== An experimental nuclear physicist,<ref name="science.osti.gov"/> Aprahamian's research focuses on the "evolution of nuclear structure and the impact of various structure effects on stellar and explosive astrophysical processes"<ref name="nd.edu1"/> and the "origins of the heavy elements in the universe and the structure of neutron rich nuclei far from stability."<ref name="science.osti.gov"/> She maintains "strong interests in the applications of nuclear science to energy and medicine."<ref name="science.osti.gov"/>

As of late 2019, she has given over 200 talks and various conferences and has over 200 publications in journals and book chapters.<ref name="naasr"/>

===University of Notre Dame=== Aprahamian joined the faculty of the Physics Department and the Nuclear Science Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame in 1989.<ref name="science.osti.gov"/><ref name="WomenLead"/> Aprahamian was the only female nuclear physicist at Notre Dame for 27 years.<ref name="WomenLead"/>

She was the director of Notre Dame's Nuclear Science Laboratory from 2001 to 2006 and chair of Notre Dame's Physics Department in 2003–2006.<ref name="fullCV"/> As of 2014, she had mentored some 10 postdoctoral fellows and 17 graduate students.<ref name="science.osti.gov"/> She is currently the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Physics.<ref name="WomenLead"/>

At the lab, Aprahamian led her team of 20 physicists' research on the overlap between nuclear physics and astrophysics using two particle accelerators.<ref name="WomenLead"/>

===Elsewhere=== Aprahamian has served on U.S. and international committees on nuclear science.<ref name="naasr"/> Aprahamian is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) since 1999<ref>{{cite web |title=APS Fellow Archive |url=https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=1999&unit_id=&institution= |publisher=American Physical Society |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221144817/https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=1999&unit_id=&institution= |archivedate=21 February 2020 |quote=Aprahamian, Ani [1999] University of Notre Dame Citation: For showing the existence of multiphonon vibrational excitations in the low-energy spectra of both spherical and deformed nuclei. Nominated by: Division of Nuclear Physics}}</ref> and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=AAAS Fellows |url=https://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/AnnualReports/2008/aaas_ann_rpt_08k_fellows.pdf |website=aaas.org |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117170047/https://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/AnnualReports/2008/aaas_ann_rpt_08k_fellows.pdf |archivedate=17 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="science.osti.gov"/> Between 2006 and 2008 she was the program director for nuclear physics and particle & nuclear astrophysics at the National Science Foundation in Washington.<ref name="fullCV"/><ref name="WomenLead"/> In 2014 she served as a member of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee of the United States Department of Energy.<ref name="fullCV"/><ref>{{cite web |title=NSAC members 2014 |url=https://science.osti.gov/np/nsac/Members/nsac-members-2014 |website=science.osti.gov |date=8 May 2015 |publisher=U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221150344/https://science.osti.gov/np/nsac/Members/nsac-members-2014 |archivedate=21 February 2020}}</ref> In the same year she served as chair of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics.<ref name="fullCV"/>

In 2016–17 she served as co-chair U.S. Electron–ion collider Facility Study.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goethals |first1=Shelly |title=Aprahamian to co-chair U.S. Electron Ion Collider Facility Study |url=https://science.nd.edu/news/aprahamian-to-co-chair-us-electron-ion-collider-facility-study/ |website=science.nd.edu |publisher=University of Notre Dame |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222111010/https://science.nd.edu/news/aprahamian-to-co-chair-us-electron-ion-collider-facility-study/ |archivedate=22 February 2020 |date=October 18, 2016}}</ref>

She was a member of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics executive committee,<ref>{{cite web |title=Ani Aprahamian |url=https://www.jinaweb.org/about-jina/people/ani-aprahamian |website=jinaweb.org |publisher=Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222111111/https://www.jinaweb.org/about-jina/people/ani-aprahamian |archivedate=22 February 2020}}</ref> the American Chemical Society's Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology.<ref name="science.osti.gov"/> She has also served as chair of the scientific council at GANIL, the French national nuclear physics research center.<ref name="WomenLead"/> She was on the advisory board of ''Physics Today'', the magazine of the American Institute of Physics.<ref name="science.osti.gov"/>

===Armenia=== Aprahamian "holds deep feelings for Armenia."<ref name="nd.eduArm"/> She was elected a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia in 2008.<ref name="sci.am"/><ref name="science.osti.gov"/> In November 2017 she met Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan.<ref>{{cite news |title=President Sargsyan receives renowned scientists Yuri Oganessian and Ani Aprahamian |url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/911469/president-sargsyan-receives-renowned-scientists-yuri-oganessian-and-ani-aprahamian.html |agency=Armenpress |date=6 November 2017 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221161907/https://armenpress.am/eng/news/911469/president-sargsyan-receives-renowned-scientists-yuri-oganessian-and-ani-aprahamian.html |archivedate=21 February 2020}}</ref> She was appointed director of the Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute, YerPhI) in April 2018.<ref name="naasr"/><ref name="mirrorspectator"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Daghdigian |first1=Hovsep |title=New Armenian President Visits Yerevan Physics Institute |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2018/05/09/new-armenian-president-visits-yerevan-physics-institute/ |work=Armenian Weekly |date=May 9, 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812210904/https://armenianweekly.com/2018/05/09/new-armenian-president-visits-yerevan-physics-institute/ |archivedate=12 August 2019}}</ref> She became the first woman and the first diaspora Armenian to hold the position.<ref name="mirrorspectator"/><ref name="naasr"/> In September 2018 she declared that a cyclotron will be put into operation for medical use.<ref>{{cite news |first=Tigran |last=Sirekanyan|title=Cyclotron to be put into operation in Armenia until end of year |url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/948148.html |agency=Armenpress |date=22 September 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221193609/https://armenpress.am/eng/news/948148.html |archivedate=21 February 2020}}</ref> It was put into operation in July 2019 and is used primarily for positron-emission tomography (PET) scans in cancer detection. Aprahamian stated: "This is a game changer for Armenia."<ref name="nd.eduArm"/> In a 2019 interview she stated that Armenia needs a "major reorganization" in science and that the country's "biggest challenges are in creating the opportunities and rewards that enable young scientists to stay in Armenia and to thrive here instead of traveling abroad."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hakobyan |first1=Gohar |title=A major reorganization is needed across Armenia |url=https://www.aravot-en.am/2019/10/08/242423/ |work=Aravot |date=October 8, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221161658/https://www.aravot-en.am/2019/10/08/242423/ |archivedate=21 February 2020}}</ref>

In April 2020 Aprahamian and her team at the Alikhanyan Laboratory developed an ozone generator which can sterilize areas of up to 140 cubic meters every hour to help fight COVID-19.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hunt |first1=Emily |title=ND professor uses nuclear physics to fight COVID-19 in Armenia |url=https://ndsmcobserver.com/2020/04/nd-professor-uses-nuclear-physics-to-fight-covid-19-in-armenia/ |website=The Observer |publisher=University of Notre Dame |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210403150648/https://ndsmcobserver.com/2020/04/nd-professor-uses-nuclear-physics-to-fight-covid-19-in-armenia/ |archive-date=3 April 2021 |date=April 27, 2020}}</ref>

==Selected publications== Aprahamian's most cited articles according to Google Scholar are:<ref>{{cite web |title=Ani Aprahamian |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pVVdyF8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao |website=scholar.google.com |publisher=Google Scholar}}</ref> *Schatz, Hendrick, Ani Aprahamian, Joachim Görres, Michael Wiescher, Thomas Rauscher, J. F. Rembges, F-K. Thielemann et al. "[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0370157397000483 rp-Process nucleosynthesis at extreme temperature and density conditions]." ''Physics Reports'' 294, no. 4 (1998): 167–263. *Schatz, Hendrik, A. Aprahamian, V. Barnard, L. Bildsten, A. Cumming, M. Ouellette, T. Rauscher, F-K. Thielemann, and M. Wiescher. "[https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.3471 End point of the rp process on accreting neutron stars]." ''Physical Review Letters'' 86, no. 16 (2001): 3471. *Mumpower, Matthew R., Rebecca Surman, G. C. McLaughlin, and A. Aprahamian. "[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0146641015000897 The impact of individual nuclear properties on r-process nucleosynthesis]." ''Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics'' 86 (2016): 86-126. *Hosmer, P. T., H. Schatz, A. Aprahamian, O. Arndt, R. R. C. Clement, A. Estrade, K-L. Kratz et al. "[https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.112501 Half-Life of the Doubly Magic r-Process Nucleus N 78 i]." ''Physical Review Letters'' 94, no. 11 (2005): 112501.

==References== {{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="nd.edu1">{{cite web |title=Ani Aprahamian |url=https://physics.nd.edu/people/faculty/ani-aprahamian/ |website=physics.nd.edu |publisher=University of Notre Dame |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725174452/https://physics.nd.edu/people/faculty/ani-aprahamian/ |archivedate=25 July 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="sci.am">{{cite web |title=Ani Aprahamyan |url=https://www.sci.am/membersview.php?id=445&d=0&l=1&langid=2 |website=sci.am |publisher=National Academy of Sciences of Armenia |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221145233/https://www.sci.am/membersview.php?id=445&d=0&l=1&langid=2 |archivedate=21 February 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="science.osti.gov">{{cite web |title=Ani Aprahamian |url=https://science.osti.gov/-/media/np/nsac/pdf/2014MemberBios/Aprahamian.pdf |website=science.osti.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221150236/https://science.osti.gov/-/media/np/nsac/pdf/2014MemberBios/Aprahamian.pdf |archivedate=21 February 2020 |date=2014}}</ref>

<ref name="WomenLead">{{cite web |title=Women Lead: Ani Aprahamian |url=https://womenlead2016.nd.edu/ani-aprahamian/ |website=womenlead2016.nd.edu |publisher=University of Notre Dame |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221123938/https://womenlead2016.nd.edu/ani-aprahamian/ |archivedate=21 February 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="nd.eduArm">{{cite news |last1=McCool |first1=Deanna Csomo |title=Notre Dame physicist launches operations of cyclotron in Armenia |url=https://science.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-physicist-launches-operations-of-cyclotron-in-armenia/ |work=science.nd.edu |publisher=University of Notre Dame |date=July 17, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221124331/https://science.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-physicist-launches-operations-of-cyclotron-in-armenia/ |archivedate=21 February 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="fullCV">{{cite web |title=Ani Aprahamian Full CV |url=https://physics.nd.edu/assets/336170/ani_cv_august_2019.pdf |website=physics.nd.edu |publisher=University of Notre Dame |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221123759/https://physics.nd.edu/assets/336170/ani_cv_august_2019.pdf |archivedate=21 February 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="naasr">{{cite web |title=SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND EDUCATION IN ARMENIA ~ A Conversation with Prof. Ani Aprahamian |url=https://naasr.org/blogs/events-1/science-technology-and-education-in-armenia-a-conversation-with-prof-ani-aprahamian-sunday-january-12-2020 |website=naasr.org |publisher=National Association for Armenian Studies and Research |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221161537/https://naasr.org/blogs/events-1/science-technology-and-education-in-armenia-a-conversation-with-prof-ani-aprahamian-sunday-january-12-2020 |archivedate=21 February 2020 |date=January 12, 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="mirrorspectator">{{cite news |title=Head of Armenia's National Science Lab Aprahamian to Speak at MIT |url=https://mirrorspectator.com/2018/11/01/head-of-armenias-national-science-lab-aprahamian-to-speak-at-mit/ |work=The Armenian Mirror-Spectator |date=November 1, 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101215819/https://mirrorspectator.com/2018/11/01/head-of-armenias-national-science-lab-aprahamian-to-speak-at-mit/ |archivedate=1 November 2018}}</ref>

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aprahamian, Ani}} Category:1958 births Category:Lebanese people of Armenian descent Category:Armenian nuclear physicists Category:Armenian physicists Category:American physicists Category:Lebanese physicists Category:Living people Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society Category:American nuclear physicists Category:Women nuclear physicists Category:Clark University alumni Category:University of Notre Dame faculty