AIRRS Leadership Team
President: Danny McClung
Danny is the health physicist and radiological consultant for Health Outcomes Military Exposures (HOME) in the Veterans Health Administration. He has a B.S. in Nuclear Technologies from Excelsior College and more than 35 years experience in radiation safety. Danny served 21 years in the US Army, to include duty at the Nevada Test Site, NRC-licensed SRO at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, instructor of Army HP at the Academy of Health Sciences, and did 2 stints at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the HPS and Military Section recipient of the John C. Taschner Leadership Award. Danny has served HPS as President of the Military Section and Chair of the Nominating Committee. He is beginning a second term on the NRRPT Board of Directors and has served on the Exam Panel since 2009.
Secretary: Alexander Bakken
Alex is a Radioisotope R&D Specialist at Niowave, Inc. in Lansing, MI. He holds a Ph.D in Health Physics as well as an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering, both from Purdue University. Alex has 16 years of experience working in NRC licensed facilities, and recently achieved certification though the American Board of Health Physics. He joined the HPS in 2014 and hopes to contribute to AIRRS in any way possible. He was the AIRRS board member and has recently been elected as the secretary/treasurer-elect.
Secretary-Elect: Brian Church
Brian is a radiation safety and health physics professional with experience in healthcare, industrial and DOE-related radiation protection programs. He currently works as an ARSO and HSE Specialist supporting radioactive materials compliance, training, and regulatory readiness at Novartis Manufacturing, where PLUVICTO is produced. Brian recently completed a Master of Radiation Health Physics from Oregon State University and is a Registered Radiation Protection Technologist. He is interested in serving on the AIRRS Section board to become more involved with HPS, contribute to the radiation safety community, and support practical training, networking, and current-topic discussions for academic, industrial, and research radiation safety programs.
Board Members
Board Member: Caitlin Root
Caitlin is currently the Radiation Safety Officer for University of South Carolina. Before that she worked as a safety advisor at Yale University. She earned a B.S. in health physics from Bloomsburg University and an M.S. in environmental health physics from Clemson University. Caitlin previously worked as a health physicist for ORAU in the Professional Trainings Programs (PTP) group and at Princeton University as a radiation safety specialist. She has been a member of the HPS since 2013 and is excited to encourage and foster a sense of inclusivity for students and young professionals working to become health physicists.
Board Member: Frederick Monette
Frederick is the Executive Director of Environmental Health and Safety at the University of Utah, as well as the Radiation Safety Officer. He is a certified health physicist (CHP), has been a member of the HPS since 1990, and is the proud leader of the group that was just awarded the “2024 Outstanding Radiation Safety Program” by the AIRRS. He has been at U of U since 2013, after working in various health physics roles at Argonne National Laboratory for almost 25 years. At Argonne, he was at times a Senior Accelerator Health Physicist, an Operational HP over the Nuclear Engineering, Physics, and Materials Science Divisions, the Training and Outreach Coordinator and a Team Captain for the Region 5 Radiological Assistance Program (RAP) team, and a U.S. Head of Delegation leading inspection teams to Russia under the Highly Enriched Uranium Transparency Program.
Board Member: Ran Angela Meng
Ms. Ran Angela Meng is the Director of the research radiation safety program at Columbia University where she has spent 13 years of her career after obtaining an MS degree in medical physics from the University. She is pursuing a DrPH degree at the Mailman School of Public Health. She serves on the Human Use Subcommittee of the Joint Radiation Safety Committee and the Joint Magnetic Resonance Research Safety Committee at the University. She oversees research radiation safety operations at the University including a medical cyclotron facility. She had peer-reviewed publication on MRI researchduring her undergraduate study and presented her findings to the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Imaging and the American Physical Society. She has been a member of the Health Physics Society (HPS), the American Academy of Health Physics, and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. She became a Certified Health Physicist in 2018. Angela currently chairs the Public Information Committee of the HPS. She has presented at the HPS annual meetings and regional chapter meetings.