Ben Estes                                                                              Richland, WA

Certified Health Physicist                                         Seeking part time / full time / flexible

bdestes@gmail.com                                                   Remote prefered outside of Richland

 

                                                                             

Education

BS Health Physics | Bloomsburg University

2002 – 2006

MS Health Physics | Idaho State University

2006 – 2008

 

Certifications

Certified Health Physicist | AAHP/ABHP

2015 – Current

 

Work History

Health Physicist Scientist | Washington River Protection Solutions

(contract transitioned to H2C as of 2/24/2025)

May 2023 – Current

I am currently part of the central Radiation Engineering group as a Company Technical Authority (SME). Our group provides oversight and technical direction for the various groups by writing technical basis documents, procedures, and managing our functional areas. A large part of this job is meeting with points of contact from the groups to discuss issues they are having in the field and find solutions to them. We also do field observations to verify work is being done according to the procedures and provide coaching as necessary.

Supervisory Health Physicist | National Institute of Standards and Technology

January 2022 – November 2022

During this time, I served as acting group leader for the Radiation Facilities Group within the Radiation Safety Division during this time due to an abrupt departure of a staff member. Responsibilities included supervising 5 direct reports, maintaining the continued operation of radiation protection services to our customers, reporting to the Radiation Safety Officer, and interfacing with management from other divisions at NIST.

Health Physicist | National Institute of Standards and Technology

June 2019 – March 2023

Provided radiation protection expertise for the protection of workers, public, and the environment as the radiation detection subject matter expert for the Radiation Safety Division (RSD). I carried out several health physics projects relating to the identification and quantification of radioactive material, and provided excellent operational health physics support to RSD. I also oversaw the sample preparation and count room and trained people on equipment usage.

Health Physicist | Oak Ridge Associated Universities

August 2008 – May 2019

Conducted independent verification surveys to support MARSSIM decommissioning projects, developed procedures, technical basis documents, survey reports, and health physics training content. I also conducted assessments, reviewed technical design drawings, performed shielding calculations using MCNP, and performed non-destructive assay using in-situ gamma spectrometry systems. For one of their customers, I designed and installed a health physics training facility from the beginning phase of needs identification to coordinating the furniture and instrument installation.

 

Summary of skills

 
  • Technical basis document development
  • Procedure development
  • Proficient with gamma spectrometry
  • Proficient with Mirion’s Apex suit of software
  • Count lab setup / calibration / procedure dev.
  • Training development/delivery
  • Program area assessments
  • NDA system setup and use
  • Field and lab instrument setup/calibration/QC
  • Radiation work permit writing
  • Dose mitigation and implementation of ALARA practices
  • Facility surveys
  • Demonstrates leadership qualities
  • Radiological incident response
  • Radionuclide identification device use
  • Proficient in AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, and Fusion 360
  • Report writing and presentations to internal and external stakeholders
  • MARSSIM Field survey experience
  • 10+ y of 3D modeling and 3D printing
  • Operational health physics
  • Gamma and neutron shielding design
  • MCNP simulation and subsequent analysis of results
  • Production computing cluster standup and administration
  • ISOCS in-situ system setup/measurement
  • Specialized radiation detection system design and fabrication
  • Electronic circuit design, simulation, and layout using LTSPICE and KiCAD
  • Proficient in Linux operating systems
  • Experience machining and fabricating
  • Adept at SQL databases, queries, and stored procedures
  • Calibration range construction and characterization

 

(This résumé was posted on 11 March 2025.)