Jacob LaManna ()

Dr. Jacob M. LaManna is a staff physicist in the Neutron Physics Group of the Radiation Physics Division within the Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) at NIST. His primary responsibility is the operation of the BT-2 thermal neutron imaging instrument which is a core component of the NIST Center for Neutron Research Facility User Program. As part of running the neutron imaging user program, Dr. LaManna guides users on the design of imaging experiments that range from hydrogen fuel cells, batteries, geochemistry, paleontology, cultural heritage, soil science, degradation modes in concrete, unconventional oil and gas recovery, and additive manufacturing, among others. Current research projects include instrument and data analysis improvements for the NIST-NeXT system to leverage the full complementarity of multimodal tomography, participation in the INFER collaboration that is developing the far-field neutron interferometer, and novel neutron imaging and optics techniques.

Dr. LaManna received a B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010 and his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2014. His graduate research was in optimization of water transport in automotive fuel cells and during his Ph.D. he extensively used the neutron imaging instrument at NIST to study fuel cells. Dr. LaManna joined the Neutron Physics Group as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow in 2014 focusing on developing the Neutron and X-ray Tomography (NeXT) system. The development of the NIST-NeXT system is a unique measurement capability in the United States for NIST and has resulted in a 2018 R&D 100 award and a 2020 Department of Commerce Silver Medal.