Curriculum Vita

Chris Palenik

1750 Grandstand Place, Elgin, IL 60123-4900
Phone: (847) 742-9909 • Fax (847) 742-2160
Email: cpalenik@microtracescientific.com
 

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Educational History - Employment  - Memberships - Affiliations - Additional Training- Publications - Abstracts

American Academy of Forensic Sciences (2001-present)

Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (2004-2005, 2007-present)

Mineralogical Society of America (2000-present)

Sigma Xi – Scientific Research Society (1998-present)

American Chemical Society (1998-present)

Alumni Board, University of Michigan, Department of Geological Sciences (2005-present)

Horace H. Rackham Distinguished Dissertation Award (highest honor given to dissertations produced under the auspices of the University), University of Michigan (2005)

John Dorr Graduate Academic Achievement Award – Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan (2004)

Geological Society of America, Travel Grant (2004)

Best Paper Award for "Microanalysis of Radiation Damage Across a Zoned Zircon Crystal" at 25th Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management Conference, Materials Research Society National Meeting (2001)

Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, DOE, Fellowship Recipient (2002-2004)

Geological Society of America Travel Grant (2004)

Rackham Graduate Student Forum, Member (2002)

Scott Turner Research Grant (2001, 2002)

University of Michigan Geology Club, Co-President (2000-2002)

University of Chicago Dean’s List (1995-96, 1997-98, 1998-99)

·        Spent Nuclear Fuel workshop, Chicago, IL (2004)

·         Lock and Security workshop, Folger-Adams Security, Lemont, IL (2004)

·         Metal Working instruction workshop, taught by Julian Broad, Shop Supervisor, University of Michigan (2004)

·         Scientific Glassblowing workshop, taught by Harald Eberhart, Master Glassblower, Ann Arbor, MI (2003)

·       Secondary ionization mass spectroscopy (SIMS) of uraninite, under Prof. M. Fayek, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN (2003)

·         Spindle Stage Methods workshop, Instructors: Prof. D. Bloss, Prof. M. Gunter, Dr. S. Su, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL (July, 2003)

·         Actinide Chemistry workshop, Institute for Transuranic Elements, Karlsruhe, Germany (June 2003)

·         Micro-Raman spectroscopy research on radiation damage in zircon, under Prof. L. Nasdala, Universität Mainz, Germany (March 2002)

·         Micro-XRF experimentation, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne, IL (2002)

·         Engineering Mineralogy of Ceramic Materials workshop, University of Siena, Italy (June 2001)

·         Synthesis of Hf-borosilicate glasses, under Prof. L.L. Davis, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Hanford, WA (February, 2000)

·         Design and development of the “Microtrace Forensic Fiber Reference Collection”, with S. Palenik, Microtrace, Elgin, IL (1998-1999)

·         Study of automobile paint finish systems, under Dr. W. Stoecklein, Forensic Science Institute of the Bundeskriminalamt, Wiesbaden, Germany (Summer 1998)

·         Study of inclusions in the Allende meteorite, Prof. L. Grossman and Dr. S. Simon, Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago (1996-1998)

·         Mentorship study of Gel-based inks, under L. Olson, National Forensic Laboratory, Internal Revenue Service (1994-1995).

·         Forensic Fiber Examination, Instructor: S. Palenik, Department of Public Safety, Austin, TX (June, 2000)

·         Infrared Spectroscopy Interpretation, Bowdoin College, Maine, (June, 1996)

·         Microchemical Methods, Instructor: S. Palenik, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL (1996)

·         Scanning Electron Microscopy, Instructor: Stevens, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL (1994)

·         NMR Spectroscopy use and interpretation, IMSA, Aurora, IL (1993-1995)

·         Polarized Light Microscopy, Instructor: J. Delly, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL (1992)

Palenik, C.S., Ewing, R.C., Fayek, M., and Fleming, R. (2004) Isotopic Composition and Neutronics of the Okelobondo Natural Nuclear Reactor. Geological Society of America, Fall National Meeting, Denver, CO.

Palenik, C.S., Ewing, R.C., Fayek, M., and Fleming, R. (2004) Microanalytical Characterization of a Natural Nuclear Reactor. Inter/Micro 04.

Ewing, K.A., Palenik, C.S. and Ewing, R.C. (2004) The natural fission reactors at Oklo, Gabon: Lessons for modeling the long-term behavior of a nuclear waste repository. International Geological Congress, Florence, Italy.

Palenik, C.S., Jensen, K.A., and Ewing, R.C. (2004) The impact of uncertainties in geochemical modeling on performance assessments. Materials Research Society - Scientific Basis for Radioactive Waste Management, San Francisco, CA.

Jensen, K.A., Palenik, C.S., Fayek, M., Evins, L.Z., Janeczek, J., and Ewing, R.C. (2003) The spent nuclear fuel analogue of the Oklo-Okélobondo and Bangombé natural fission reactors. Nordic Geological Winter Meeting, Sweeden.

Palenik, C.A., Fayek, M., Jensen, K.A., and Ewing, R.C. (2003) Analysis of Fission Products and Pu Migration in the Okelobondo Reactor Zone Using SIMS. Geological Society of America, Fall National Meeting, Seattle, WA, 35(6) 237.

Utsunomiya, S., Palenik, C.S., Ewing, R.C., Valley, J.W., Cavosie, A.J., and Wilde, S.A. (2003) Fate of Pb in an Archean Zircon. Geological Society of America, Fall National Meeting, Seattle, WA 35(6), 594.

Reich, M., Palenik, C.S., Utsunomiya, S., Becker, U, Stixrude, L. Kesler, S.E. and Ewing, R.C. (2003) Solubility Limit of Gold in Arsenian Pyrite from Carlin-Type and Epithermal Deposits: EMPA, SIMS, HRTEM and Quantum-Mechanical Constraints. Geological Society of America, Fall National Meeting, Seattle, WA 35(6), 358.

Palenik, C.S. and Stoecklein, W. (2003) Batch to batch differentiation of automobile paints. Inter/Micro-03, Chicago, IL

Jensen K.A., Palenik C.S., and Ewing R.C.  (2003) Thermodynamic prediction of observed uranium minerals in the supergene-weathered Bangombé U-deposit: implications for blind prediction modeling. Uranium Geochemistry 2003, Nancy, France.

Palenik, C.S., Utsunomiya, S, Kesler, S.E. and Ewing, R.C. (2002) Gold nanoparticles in aresenian pyrite from a Carlin-type deposit observed by HRTEM.  Geological Society of America, Fall National Meeting, Denver, CO.

Palenik, C.S, Jensen, K.A. and Ewing, R.C. (2002) Thermodynamic prediction of observed uranyl phases in the supergene-weatherd Bangombe U-deposit: Implications for Blind Prediction Modeling.  International Mineralogical Association, Scotland, England.

Jensen, K.A., Palenik, C.S., Ewing, R.C. and Burns, P.C. (2001) Uranyl Phases in the Bangombe U-Deposit, Migration '01, Bregenz, Austria.

Jensen, K.A., Palenik, C.S., Ewing, R.C. and Burns, P.C. (2001) Oxidative Alteration of the Oklo-Okelobondo and Bangombe U-Deposits in Gabon: Observed and Predicted Mineralogy, American Chemical Society - Fall National Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Palenik, C.S., Lian, J. and Ewing, R.C. (2001) Zircon as a host for the disposal of Plutonium, Workshop on Engineering Mineralogy of Ceramic Materials, ISEPS, Siena, ITALY.

Jensen, K.A., Palenik, C.S., Ewing, R.C., Burns, P. (2000) The role of sulfates during supergene weathering in the Oklo-Okelobondo uranium deposits, Geological Society of America, Reno, NV.

Palenik, C.S., (1998) “Analysis of Chrome-Bearing Spinel from the Allende Meteorite” Geophysical Science Exposition ’98, University of Chicago.

Simon, S.B., Grossman, L., Ebel, D., Palenik, C. (1998) “Large Relict Chromium Spinel from Allende: A link to Murchison?”, 29th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX.

Palenik, C.S. and Olson, L. (1995) “Identification of Gel-Based Inks”, INTER/MICRO-95, Chicago, IL.

Palenik, C.S. “Original Paint Finish Systems on Foreign Automobiles”, INTER/MICRO-94, Chicago, IL (1994).