Julie Ezold is a nuclear engineer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). She has worked at ORNL since 1992, and directs a project in the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center that uses the High Flux Isotope Reactor to create Californium-252. She has been the campaign manager for the 252-Californium Campaign since 2006, and was involved with the discovery of Tennessine, a synthetic chemical element. As campaign manager, Ezold supervises activities such as target fabrication, target approval for insertion into the High Flux Isotope Reactor, chemical processing of irradiated targets, and final source fabrication using Californium-252, Berkelium-249, and Einsteinium-253.
In addition to directing the Californium Program, Ezold plans and oversees nuclear material processing R&D safely and effectively for nuclear isotopes such as Nickel-63, Selenium-75, and Neptunium-237.