Dr. Hall is the Director of the UT Institute for Nuclear Security. He is appointed as the UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair Professor of Nuclear Security, and serves as faculty in both the Department of Nuclear Engineering and the Bredesen Center For Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education. Dr. Hall is also a Senior Fellow in Global Security Policy at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, where he directs the Baker Center’s Global Security Programs. Professor Hall received his Ph.D. in Nuclear and Radiochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1989; and his BS in Chemistry from the College of Charleston in 1985. Prior to joining UT, Dr. Hall spent more than 20 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he led major scientific and operational missions in nuclear and homeland security. Professor Hall is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Nuclear Society, the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society, the American Society for Engineering Education, the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists.

Nuclear forensics, particularly developing faster and more reliable radioanalytical processes, and developing a better understanding of the physical, chemical, and nuclear processes underlying nuclear forensics for reducing uncertainty in the interpretation of forensic data. Nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry, novel separation methods, the evolution of trace material signatures, nuclear isotope production and purification research, and physical/chemical properties of isotopes. Radiation detection and measurement as applied to security-relevant needs, particularly the performance of “systems of systems” against radioactive threats. Nuclear security policy in the interface between technology, policy and legal frameworks, including treaty verification and arms control, counterterrorism, and nuclear nonproliferation.