Michael Febbraro

Dr. Michael Febbraro is a Research Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Department of Engineering Physics. He holds a PhD in Applied Physics (Nuclear Focus) from the University of Michigan (2014) and a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the same institution (2011). His postdoctoral work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) led to staff scientist status in 2017, where he spearheaded research in experimental nuclear physics, neutrino physics, and quantum sensing. He joined AFIT in 2023.

Research Interests:

• Experimental nuclear physics
• Radiation detection technologies
• Scintillating materials development
• Dark matter detection
• Neutron spectroscopy
• Nuclear applications for national security

Awards & Patents:

• Joule Award (U.S. Department of Energy, 2017)
• US Patent 10234575 (2019): Directional-neutron detector
• US Patent 10422042 (2019): Metal coating compositions
• Three invention disclosures at ORNL (2017)

Key Contributions:

• Advancements in deuterated stilbene and liquid scintillator detectors
• COHERENT collaboration (first observation of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering)
• Development of boron-loaded scintillators and 3D-printable plastic detectors

Labs & Collaborations: Active in COHERENT, PROSPECT, and LEGEND collaborations. Leader of the ORNL Deuterated Spectroscopic Array (ODeSA) and SABRE detector projects.