LLNL's Buddemeier named to National Academies board

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) certified health physicist Brooke Buddemeier has been appointed to a panel of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

A 35-year Lab employee, Buddemeier has been named to the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board (NRSB), which provides advice about safety, security, technical efficacy and other issues arising from the application of nuclear and radiation-based technologies.

“The national academies perform a critical national role in providing advice on the safety, security and other aspects of radiological and nuclear technology,” Buddemeier said. “I am very honored that they have invited me to become a member of the NRSB.”

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) provide independent, objective, evidence-based advice to inform policy, spark progress and innovation and confront challenging issues facing society.

Through his work in N Program of the Lab’s Global Security Principal Directorate, Buddemeier has provided technical leadership for multi-organizational efforts to deliver sound supporting science for radiological and nuclear terrorism risk assessments and response support. He is a scientist with the Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division of the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate.

Buddemeier facilitates response preparedness activities through advanced modeling and close coordination with international, federal, state and local response organizations.

He led the technical team that supported the development of the 2022 edition of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation and the FEMA Nuclear Detonation Response Guidance (2023).

In recent years, Buddemeier has played a key role in alerting the public to the importance of sheltering inside buildings in the event of a nuclear detonation in their community through upwards of two dozen media interviews.

The Lab health physicist, who often promotes the FEMA message of “Get Inside, Stay Inside, Stay Tuned” for what to do in the event of a nuclear detonation, has been featured in stories in USA Today, the New York Times, the NBC Nightly News, CNN, Business Insider and other publications. The research on nuclear fallout shows that sheltering could save tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of lives, Buddemeier often notes in his interviews.

Throughout his career, he also has been part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Nuclear Emergency Support Teams, such as the Radiological Assistance Program, a national emergency response resource that assists federal, state and local authorities in the event of a radiological incident.

He also supports international preparedness and response activities such as the International Commission on Radiological Protection and the NNSA Office of Radiological Security.

Buddemeier is a scientific vice president and board member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) and has served on the scientific committees for several NCRP reports, including: Report No. 165 – Responding to a Radiological or Nuclear Terrorism Incident: A Guide for Decision Makers; Report No. 175 – Decision Making for Late-Phase Recovery from Major Nuclear or Radiological Incidents; and Report No. 179 – Guidance for Emergency Response Dosimetry.

He is a fellow in the Health Physics Society and past president of the Homeland Security and Emergency Response Section.

Buddemeier received a bachelor’s of science degree in nuclear engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in radiological health physics from San Jose State University.