Senior Scientific Engineering Associate
Mark’s research has focused on the development and operation of aerial- and ground-based multi-sensor detector systems for standoff nuclear detection and background characterization as well as the monitoring of environmental background radiation. He is interested in using contextual data fusion to enhance the detection capabilities of such systems. Mark also works on scientific data curation systems for the large datasets that result from multi-sensor systems.
Prior to joining LBNL in 2012, Mark was at UC Berkeley, where he did his Ph.D. in Physics in 2010. His dissertation was on the first successful use of a compact Compton telescope to image an astrophysical gamma-ray source.
Education:
Ph.D. Physics, University of California Berkeley, 2010M.A. Physics, University of California Berkeley, 2006A.B. (magna cum laude) Physics, Harvard College, 2003.
Selected papers:
M.S. Bandstra, T.H.Y. Joshi, K.J. Bilton, A. Zoglauer, and B.J. Quiter, “Modeling Aerial Gamma-Ray Backgrounds Using Non-negative Matrix Factorization,” IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 67(5), pp. 777–790, 2020. DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2020.2978798
M.S. Bandstra, B.J. Quiter, J.C. Curtis, K.J. Bilton, T.H.Y. Joshi, R. Meyer, V. Negut, K. Vetter, D.E. Archer, D.E. Hornback, D.E. Peplow, C.E. Romano, M.W. Swinney, T.L. McCullough, and M.S.L. McLean, “Attribution of gamma-ray background collected by a mobile detector system to its surroundings using panoramic video,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, 954,161126, 2020. DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2018.08.085
M.S. Bandstra, T.J. Aucott, E. Brubaker, D.H. Chivers, R.J. Cooper, J.C. Curtis, J.R. Davis, T.H. Joshi, J. Kua, R. Meyer, V. Negut, M. Quinlan, B.J. Quiter, S. Srinivasan, A. Zakhor, R. Zhang, and K. Vetter, “RadMAP: The Radiological Multi-sensor Analysis Platform,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, 840, pp. 59–68, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2016.09.040
M.S. Bandstra, E.C. Bellm, S.E. Boggs, D. Perez-Becker, A. Zoglauer, H.K. Chang, J.L. Chiu, J.S. Liang, Y.H. Chang, Z.K. Liu, W.C. Hung, M.H.A. Huang, S.J. Chiang, R.S. Run, C.H. Lin, M. Amman, P.N. Luke, P. Jean, P. von Ballmoos, and C.B. Wunderer, “Detection and Imaging of the Crab Nebula with the Nuclear Compton Telescope,” The Astrophysical Journal, 738(1), p. 8, 2011. DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/738/1/8
Open source software:
becquerel, software for gamma-ray spectroscopy: https://github.com/lbl-anp/becquerel