Cheryl K. Rofer is an American chemist and writer who worked as a nuclear researcher at
Los Alamos National Laboratory for over thirty years. She was involved with the environmental clean-up of
Estonia and
Kazakhstan after the Soviet occupation.
Early life and education
Ms Rofer had an interest in science from an early age. Rofer earned her bachelor's in chemistry degree at
Ripon College.
She moved to the
University of California, Berkeley for graduate studies, where she earned a master's degree. After graduating she joined
Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Research and career
Rofer's early research considered photochemistry and how it can be used to understand uranyl compounds in organic solvents. She later developed spectroscopic tools for isotope separation. In the wake of the
Soviet occupation of
Estonia and
Kazakhstan, Rofer became involved in environmental remediation.
After retiring from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2001 Rofer became involved in documenting the
Manhattan Project. She maintains a blog on nuclear physics (''Nuclear Diner'') which provides a critical analysis of the likelihood of nuclear terrorism. She has also contributed to newspapers including ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', ''
The Washington Post'' and ''
Mother Jones''.
When asked about the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Rofer told ''
Chemistry World
''Chemistry World'' is a monthly chemistry news magazine published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The magazine addresses current events in world of chemistry including research, international business news and government policy as it affects ...
'', "Obviously, you don’t want nuclear reactors in the middle of a war. But here we are". She has written opinion pieces for ''
Nature'', ''
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
'' and ''
HuffPost''.
Selected publications
*
*
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rofer, Cheryl
Ripon College (Wisconsin) alumni
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
Living people