An experimental nuclear physicist, Aprahamian's research focuses on the "evolution of nuclear structure and the impact of various structure effects on stellar and explosive astrophysical processes" and the "origins of the heavy elements in the universe and the structure of neutron rich nuclei far from stability." She maintains "strong interests in the applications of nuclear science to energy and medicine." As of late 2019, she has given over 200 talks and various conferences and has over 200 [|publications] in journals and book chapters.
University of Notre Dame
Aprahamian joined the faculty of the Physics Department and the Nuclear Science Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame in 1989. Aprahamian was the only female nuclear physicist at Notre Dame for 27 years. She was the director of Notre Dame's Nuclear Science Laboratory from 2001 to 2006 and chair of Notre Dame's Physics Department in 2003–2006. As of 2014, she had mentored some 10 postdoctoral fellows and 17 graduate students. She is currently the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Physics. At the lab, Aprahamian led her team of 20 physicists' research on the overlap between nuclear physics and astrophysics using two particle accelerators.
Elsewhere
Aprahamian has served on U.S. and international committees on nuclear science. Aprahamian is a fellow of the American Physical Society since 1999 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 2008. Between 2006 and 2008 she was the Program Director for Nuclear Physics and Particle & Nuclear Astrophysics at the National Science Foundation in Washington. In 2014 she served as a member of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee of the United States Department of Energy. In the same year she served as chair of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics. In 2016–17 she served as co-chair U.S. Electron–ion collider Facility Study. She was a member of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics executive committee, the American Chemical Society's Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology. She has also served as chair of the scientific council at GANIL, the French national nuclear physics research center. She was on the advisory board of Physics Today, the magazine of the American Institute of Physics.
Armenia
Aprahamian "holds deep feelings for Armenia." She was elected a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia in 2008. In November 2017 she met Armenian presidentSerzh Sargsyan. She was appointed director of the Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory in April 2018. She became the first woman and the first diaspora Armenian to hold the position. In September 2018 she declared that a cyclotron will be put into operation for medical use. It was put into operation in July 2019 and is used primarily for positron-emission tomography scans in cancer detection. Aprahamian stated: "This is a game changer for Armenia." In a 2019 interview she stated that Armenia needs a "major reorganization" in science and that the country's "biggest challenges are in creating the opportunities and rewards that enable young scientists to stay in Armenia and to thrive here instead of traveling abroad."
Selected publications
Aprahamian's most cited articles according to Google Scholar are:
Schatz, Hendrick, Ani Aprahamian, Joachim Görres, Michael Wiescher, Thomas Rauscher, J. F. Rembges, F-K. Thielemann et al. "." Physics Reports 294, no. 4 : 167–263.
Schatz, Hendrik, A. Aprahamian, V. Barnard, L. Bildsten, A. Cumming, M. Ouellette, T. Rauscher, F-K. Thielemann, and M. Wiescher. "." Physical Review Letters 86, no. 16 : 3471.
Mumpower, Matthew R., Rebecca Surman, G. C. McLaughlin, and A. Aprahamian. "." Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics 86 : 86-126.
Hosmer, P. T., H. Schatz, A. Aprahamian, O. Arndt, R. R. C. Clement, A. Estrade, K-L. Kratz et al. "." Physical Review Letters 94, no. 11 : 112501.
