Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Hartig Lab
Led by Kyle Hartig · Materials Science and Engineering
What we study
The Hartig Lab studies laser-based spectroscopy, including laser-induced plasmas and breakdown spectroscopy. Recent work combines it with machine learning, for example to detect plutonium-surrogate contamination in soil and to tell iron oxalates apart from their spectra.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Computational
- No organisms (data only)
- Coding required
- Project
- 1
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Implementation of Stacked Ensemble Machine Learning for Detection of Plutonium Surrogate Contamination in Soil
The lab uses a laser technique to read the chemical fingerprint of soil and trains AI models to spot tiny amounts of a plutonium‑like material. The student built and tested several AI ensembles, achieving very low detection limits.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 90
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- In situ imaging of oxidation dynamics within aluminum laser induced plasmas
2026 · Analytica Chimica Acta
- Cumulative effects on ultrafast laser filamentation in liquid aerosol media
2026 · Optics Express
Studies how laser filaments clear clouds and interact with aerosols, showing cloud-clearing effects.
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- Machine Learning–Augmented Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Spectral Discrimination of Iron Oxalates
2026 · Nuclear Science and Engineering
Tests whether laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy can identify iron oxidation states in nuclear materials.
- Advancing nuclear forensics through nanoscale characterization: The role of transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography
2026 · Materials Today Communications
Reviews how nanoscale tools like TEM and APT improve nuclear forensics by detecting tiny material details.
- Advances in Autoradiography Systems for Nuclear Forensic Analysis
2026 · Nuclear Science and Engineering
Explores how autoradiography improves nuclear forensic analysis by mapping radioactive material in samples.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
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