Miriam Matney successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis on March 16, 2026 titled “The Neutron Irradiation Station and measurements of the ⁶⁸Zn neutron capture cross sections” advised by Prof. Anna Simon-Robertson.

Miriam’s thesis focused on the neutron capture reaction on ⁶⁸Zn for the s-process nucleosynthesis. The reaction is key to determine the flow of the s-process nucleosynthesis and defines the abundance of several isotopes in the A=70-90 mass region. To measure this reaction across a wide range of neutron energies, she utilized the DANCE array at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Subsequently, Miriam used this same reaction to commission the Neutron Irradiation Station at the NSL, marking the first neutron-capture measurement ever performed using this facility.