Our Team

Principal Investigator

Kyle Hartig

Kyle C. Hartig, Ph.D.

Prof. Hartig is PI of the Optical Science and Nonproliferation group, an Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering in UF’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering, a member of the Florida Institute for National Security (FINS), and a Joint Appointee with Savannah River National Laboratory. Previously a postdoctoral scholar at PNNL supporting NNSA remote-sensing initiatives, he holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Penn State (supported in part by the DHS Nuclear Forensics Graduate Fellowship) and a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State University. Dr. Hartig has served in federal roles focused on counterproliferation and intelligence, authored high-level internal publications, and specializes in remote sensing, nuclear nonproliferation/counterproliferation, nuclear security, and nuclear policy.

Graduate Students

Justin Borrero Headshot

Cameron Wojtowicz

Cameron is a second-year Nuclear Engineering Ph.D. student, concurrently pursuing an M.S. He earned an A.S. from Grand Rapids Community College (2018) and a B.A. in Physics from Calvin University (2023). After varied roles—from pharmaceutical technician to city parks employee—he sought greater intellectual challenge and joined Dr. Kyle Hartig’s group in Fall 2024. Cameron’s research focuses on low-temperature detection, especially microcalorimeters for low-energy gamma spectroscopy (0–300 keV), detector physics, and Monte Carlo modeling in GEANT4. In Summer 2025, he worked with Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Low-Temperature Detection group under Dr. Rico Schoenemann and Mark Croce, studying resonator shifts in multiplexing chips and presenting at the LANL Student Symposium. His career goal is a staff position at a U.S. national laboratory. Outside the lab, Cameron enjoys video games, anime, language learning (Japanese, Toki Pona), and hands-on projects such as woodworking and operating a small metal-smelting foundry.

Enrique Medici

Paige Anderson

Paige Anderson is a first year Nuclear Engineering PhD student from Ohio. She graduated in May 2025 from the University of Florida with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Economics. Guided by values of balance, creativity, adventure, innovation, leadership, service, knowledge, and growth, she pursues an interdisciplinary path and embraces new opportunities. Paige joined the Optical Science and Nonproliferation Lab in her third undergraduate year and continues that research in graduate school. Her work explores integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning into nuclear security applications, with contributions to the Consortium for Nuclear Forensics and the Florida Institute for National Security. She has completed internships at the Air Force Research Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These experiences, together with her doctoral studies, fuel interests in nuclear security, policy, and cross sector collaboration. Long term, she aims to serve as a bridge between technical experts and policymakers and to advance sustainable solutions that strengthen global security. Beyond academics, Paige has been active in the UF beach volleyball club, enjoys trying new sports, and spends time outdoors. She is an avid traveler who values learning from new cultures and environments. She also mentors peers and volunteers in STEM outreach.

Justin Borrero

DoD SMART Fellow & PhD Candidate

Raised in Puerto Rico, I’m a social, water-loving person who enjoys music, dancing, and great food. Sports were central growing up—I played baseball, tennis, and volleyball (still decent!), and I’ve long balanced that with creative outlets like drawing and guitar. I’ve also become an audiophile and hope to build a personal studio one day.

Academically, a growing passion for science and math led me to the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez in 2013, where I earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering (2019). I continued with an M.S. in 2022, specializing in kinetic studies of gas-phase heterogeneous catalysis. Seeking a broader mission—one that challenges me and contributes to globally relevant problems—I turned toward national security applications of chemistry.

I’m now a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida, working with Dr. Kyle C. Hartig in the Optical Science and Nonproliferation (OSN) Group. My research applies high-temperature reaction chemistry to nuclear fireball chemistry of actinide species and their radial surface deposition patterns, with the aim of advancing nonproliferation and nuclear forensic capabilities. This work sits at the intersection of rigorous experimentation, modeling, and mission-driven science—exactly where I want to be. Outside the lab, you’ll still find me on a volleyball court or jamming on my guitar.

Cameron Wojtowicz Headshot

Enrique Medici

DoD SMART Fellow & PhD Candidate

Enrique graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering in May 2025, where I spent three years as an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Kyle C. Hartig's Optical Science and Non-Proliferation (OSN) group. I am in the OSN group as a first-year Ph.D. student, supported by the DoD SMART Scholarship with Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC). My work focuses on understanding teller light as it propagates through different media via experimental and computational methods and answering questions in characterizing a nuclear phenomenon. My long-term goal is to become a subject-matter expert in optical physics modeling and advise global leaders when it comes to matters of nuclear national security. Before university, I grew up in Italy for most of my childhood and later immigrated to the U.S., specifically South Florida, where I have resided ever since. Outside of research, I like to go mountain biking, play tennis, go for walks, make homemade baked goods, watch sports (F1 and Tennis), and spend time with loved ones.

Paige Anderson

Hannah Patz

Hannah Patz is a Nuclear Engineering PhD candidate at the University of Florida, working in the Radiation Detection and Imaging Systems Lab with Drs. Kyle C. Hartig and James E. Baciak as part of the Consortium for Nuclear Forensics (CNF). Her interests began in 2019, when she modernized reactor transport analysis tools for four years in Dr. Justin Watson’s Florida Advanced Multiphysics Modeling and Simulations Lab. She also joined the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program at the US Naval Academy, studying theory–experiment gaps in fluid flow, and completed a Texas A&M grant in Dr. Pavel Tsvetkov’s Advanced Energy Systems Lab assessing operational security of the IAEA iPWR. After PNNL’s Radiation Detection for Nuclear Security Summer School, she began her PhD in Fall 2023. Hannah now advances the ionizing radiation Quantum Imaging Detector (iQID), a scintillation system that images fission fragments, neutrons, charged particles, and gammas. She is optimizing algorithms to distinguish alpha energies and treat beta tracks for nuclear forensics and safeguards, enabling field identification of actinides. She has seven presentations, a paper under review, leads UF Women in Nuclear, mentors with ANS and SWE, and supports K–12 STEM outreach on campus, interned at PNNL’s MIRA project, and earned CNF’s Best National Laboratory Collaboration (June 2025).

Undergraduate Students

  • Young woman with long brown hair and hoop earrings smiling at the camera. Background features a staircase and a flower wall.

    Ava Compitiello

    Junior

    Nuclear Engineering

    University Research Scholar

  • A soldier in camouflage uniform standing in front of a helicopter with trees in the background.

    Eric Realmuto

    NROTC, Junior

    Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

    University Research Scholar

  • Black and white photo of a large nuclear explosion or mushroom cloud at a distance over the ocean or coastal area.

    Mateo Halka

    Junior

    Physics

  • Logo with a shield shape, featuring a blue and orange color scheme, with a circular emblem in the center that contains an eye symbol and the word "FINS" underneath.

    Carter Amaba

    Junior

    FINS Talent Pipeline

  • Logo with shield and flags of the Philippines, with a circular emblem in the center containing the word 'FINS' and a stylized face.

    Kenyan Paschall

    Junior

    FINS Talent Pipeline

  • A logo featuring a red, yellow, and blue shield with a circular emblem in the center that has a stylized car face, the word 'FINS,' and surrounding stars.

    Joseph Starr

    Junior

    FINS Talent Pipeline

  • A colorful shield-shaped logo with red, yellow, and blue segments, containing a circular emblem in the center with a stylized car and the text 'FINS' beneath it.

    Andrea Conteras-Fernandez

    Junior

    FINS Talent Pipeline

Alumni

  • Emily Kwapis, DoD SMART Fellow, Nuclear Security

    Dr. Emily Kwapis

    Ph.D. Nuclear Engineering, May 2024

    DoD SMART Fellow

    Current Postion: DoD Federal Employment

  • Kyle S. Latty, DoD SMART Fellow, Nuclear Security

    Dr. Kyle S. Latty

    Ph.D. Nuclear Engineering, Dec. 2024

    DoD SMART Fellow

    Current Position: DoD Federal Employment

  • Weslee Kersey

    M.S. Nuclear Engineering, Dec. 2024

    Left Ph.D. for Active Duty Deployment, Oct. 2025

    DoD SMART Fellow

  • Thaigo Arnaud, West Point DTRA NSERC Nuclear Security Search Field Exercise

    Thiago Arnaud

    B.S. Physics, May 2024

    NSF GRFP Award Winner as member of OSN Group.

    Current Position: Ph.D. Student Materials Science Vanderbilt University

  • MAJ Christopher "CJ" Hunter. Nuclear Proliferation Officer. Joint Staff, Nuclear Forensics

    MAJ Christopher "CJ" Hunter

    M.S. Nuclear Engineering, May 2022

    Nuclear Forensics Portfolio Manager at Pentagon Joint Staff

  • Explosion of a nuclear or large mushroom cloud rising from the ground with smoke and debris.

    Jack Morrison

    B.S. & M.S. Nuclear Engineering

    Current Position: NNSA Defense Programs Federal Employment

    NNSA NGFP Fellow 2020-2021

  • Matthew Dunbrack, OSN Alumni.

    Matthew Dunbrack

    B.S. Nuclear Engineering, May 2018

    Ph.D. Nuclear Engineering GaTech