Bio

Titeana Cook earned her Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University in May 2026. She conducted her research with the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) under the guidance of Dr. Craig Marianno and Dr. Cody Folden, focusing on nuclear forensics and the analysis of irradiated uranium.

Cook’s research explored how high-resolution mass spectrometry could streamline measurements used to help determine nuclear material’s irradiation history. Conventional techniques can require time-consuming chemical separations to distinguish isotopes with nearly identical masses. Working in collaboration with researchers at Clemson University, she applied high-resolution instrumentation to distinguish neodymium-150 from samarium-150, enabling direct measurement of a samarium isotope ratio useful for assessing fuel burnup without chemical separations specifically intended to remove that interference. Her work supports efforts to make nuclear forensic analysis faster and more efficient.

Before attending Texas A&M, Cook earned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Alabama A&M University in 2023 and interned as a systems engineer at Idaho National Laboratory. She began her graduate studies at Texas A&M in spring 2024. Following her graduation in May 2026, she joined Westinghouse.