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Current Position

Teaching Associate Professor

January 2014 – Present

Department of Physics, East Carolina University

Students that enroll in my courses learn a variety of useful skill sets, including

Volunteer Work

Webmaster

November 2015 – Present

Ancient TL

Ancient TL is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that details experimental and theoretical aspects of luminescence dating, electron spin resonance (ESR) dating, and related techniques.

Portfolio

Handcrafted.codes — Physics, numerical programming, data science, and more

Education

Ph.D. in Physics, Oklahoma State University (July 2011)

Dissertation: Radiation Shielding for Future Space Exploration Missions

Developed a method for quantifying the efficacy of a candidate space radiation shielding material using a combination of experimental and numerical techniques.

M.S. in Physics, Oklahoma State University (May 2006)

Thesis: The Characterization of Surface Diffusion by Digital Particle Tracking

Quantified the aqueous surface diffusion of polystyrene microspheres as a step toward developing an artificial lung surfactant specific to infant respiratory distress syndrome.

B.S. in Physics; Minor: Mathematics, Oklahoma State University (December 2000)

Experience and Interests

Professional Experience

Physics Instructor

August 2012 – December 2015

Pitt Community College

I taught physics here for a few years before transitioning to ECU.

Research Fellow

May 2012 – April 2013

Office of Technology Transfer, East Carolina University

Research Scientist

May 2006 – July 2011

Eril Research, Inc.

PE_thumb PE_resize_75 Energy deposition (units: GeV/cm3) of a 975 MeV/n 28Si beam in polyethylene. This is sample output from the simulations performed with FLUKA.
BBIC-3_thumb BBIC-3_resize_75 Data from BBIC-3. As shown, the AIR model agrees well with the experimental data on ascent/descent.

Space Radiation Shielding

PE_resize_75
Energy deposition (units: GeV/cm3) of a 975 MeV/n 28Si beam in polyethylene. This is sample output from the simulations performed with FLUKA.

Atmospheric Radiation Environment

BBIC-3_resize_75
Data from BBIC-3. As shown, the AIR model agrees well with the experimental data on ascent/descent.
AIR

Graduate Technical Laboratory Assistant

August 2005 – May 2006

Department of Physics, Oklahoma State University

Research Assistant

May 2003 – May 2006

Department of Physics, Oklahoma State University

Spheres_thumb Spheres_resize_75 Photomicrograph of 5.3 μm diameter polystyrene microspheres exhibiting Brownian motion at the air-water interface.
Spheres_resize_75
Photomicrograph of 5.3 μm diameter polystyrene microspheres exhibiting Brownian motion at the air-water interface.

Teaching Assistant

August 2001 – August 2005

Department of Physics, Oklahoma State University

Research Assistant

August 1999 – August 2000

Department of Physics, Oklahoma State University

POPC-CHOL_thumb POPC-CHOL_resize_75 Cross-sectional view of POPC-CHOL molecule orientations after 60.0 ps MD. This is sample output from the molecular dynamics simulation package GROMOS (later GROMACS) to investigate the biomembrane dynamics of lipid bilayers.
POPC-CHOL_resize_75
Cross-sectional view of POPC-CHOL molecule orientations after 60.0 ps MD. This is sample output from the molecular dynamics simulation package GROMOS (later GROMACS) to investigate the biomembrane dynamics of lipid bilayers.

System Administrator / Research Assistant

August 1997 – August 1999

Department of Physics, Oklahoma State University

Phase_thumb Phase_resize_75 Parameters: A = B = 0.001, C = 20, D = −1, R = S = 0, y = 14, θ = 2, κ = 0.5, γ = 0.05, Δ = 1.
Phase_resize_75
Parameters: A = B = 0.001, C = 20, D = −1, R = S = 0, y = 14, θ = 2, κ = 0.5, γ = 0.05, Δ = 1.

Publications

J.M. DeWitt and E.R. Benton, "Novel composite materials for space radiation protection," in preparation.

J.M. DeWitt and E.R. Benton, "Secondary proton buildup in space radiation shielding," Life Sciences in Space Research 41, 119-126 (2024).

J.M. DeWitt, S. McMahon, and J. Parnell, "The Effect of Grain Size on Porewater Radiolysis," Earth and Space Science 9(6), e2021EA002024 (2022).

J.M. DeWitt and E.R. Benton, "Shielding effectiveness: A weighted figure of merit for space radiation shielding," Applied Radiation and Isotopes 161, 109141 (2020).

E.R. Benton, C.E. Johnson, J.M. DeWitt, N. Yasuda, E.V. Benton, M.H. Moyers, and A.L. Frank, "Observations of short-range, high-LET recoil tracks in CR-39 plastic nuclear track detector by visible light microscopy," Radiation Measurements 46, 527-532 (2011).

C.E. Johnson, J.M. DeWitt, E.R. Benton, N. Yasuda, and E.V. Benton, "LET Spectrum Measurements in CR-39 PNTD with AFM," Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on the Application of Accelerators in Research and Industry (CAARI 2010), Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 8-13 August 2010, F.D. McDaniel and B.L. Doyle, AIP Conference Proceedings 1336, 637 (2011).

J.M. DeWitt, E.R. Benton, Y. Uchihori, N. Yasuda, E.V. Benton, and A.L. Frank, "Assessment of radiation shielding materials for protection of space crews using CR-39 plastic nuclear track detector," Radiation Measurements 44, 905-908 (2009).

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