Poster #40 - Tareq Alrefae

Assistant Professor, Kuwait University, Khaldia, Kuwait

Biography

After obtaining his PhD from the University of Kansas in the United States, Tareq Alrefae moved back to his home country (Kuwait) to hold a faculty position in the Physics Department of Kuwait University. Tareq’s current research is focused on environmental radiation, which involves assessment of the radiological safety of various ingested and inhaled substances. Moreover, these studies aim to establish baseline levels of radioactivity exposure to the general public. Examples of these studies include investigations of radionuclides in food items like milk, cereal, rice, seafood, palm dates, and water. Furthermore, radiation exposure from the inhalation of radionuclides in incense was studied and estimation of doses received by incense smoke inhalers was performed. To enhance the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of environmental gamma spectrometry, Tareq has developed software programs that utilize Monte Carlo methods to perform gamma spectrometry efficiency calibration. This computational approach has eliminated the need for standard calibration and reference materials, thus helping environmental radioactivity labs to save time and conserve resources.