Dr. Chaychian is an expert in laboratory instrumentation and analysis. She is responsible for performing a wide range of analytical and examination techniques to support DEI consulting and research projects, including microwave digestion, ion chromatography, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), x-ray diffractometry (XRD), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), particle size distribution (PSD) measurements and destructive and non-destructive materials examination. Dr. Chaychian supports a wide range of DEI projects, ranging from root cause failure analysis of materials and components from nuclear power systems to the development and qualification of chemical cleaning and treatment processes for nuclear facilities. She also supports the maintenance of DEI’s safety program and is responsible for records management under DEI’s radioactive materials handling license.

Dr. Chaychian holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland. She obtained her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Amir Kabir in Iran. Prior to joining DEI, she was a faculty research assistant at the University of Maryland where she evaluated high-powered industrial radiation processes for the remediation of water, transformer oil and sediment contaminated with toxic materials such as heavy metals and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). She was also previously a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) where she employed different analytical methods, such as Soxhlet extraction, pressurized fluid extraction, liquid chromatography, solid phase extraction, and liquid-liquid partitioning to extract PCB congeners as well as pesticides contained in water, transformer oil and marine and freshwater sediment to determine the concentrations of organic pollutants present.