Nuclear reactors are very bright sources of neutrinos. The radioactive fission products are neutron rich, and beta decay back to the valley of stability while emitting (electron anti-)neutrinos along the way. This was how the neutrino was discovered, and how we verified that neutrino oscillations explained the Solar Neutrino Problem. More recently, the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment discovered a new mode of neutrino oscillation, and the PROSPECT experiment is being planned to search for “sterile” neutrinos.

This talk will first review the basics of neutrinos, their detection, neutrino oscillations, and nuclear reactors as neutrino sources. We’ll then take a tour of recent results and next steps, including some surprises in what we’ve learned about the reactor neutrino source itself.

Bio: Jim Napolitano is Professor of Physics and Department Chair at Temple University, arriving in January 2014 after 20 years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His field is experimental nuclear and particle physics with an emphasis on fundamental problems in physics and astrophysics. An enthusiastic educator, he has developed several courses and has authored or co-authored revisions of three physics textbooks.