Neutron-induced reactions on radioactive nuclei are of interest to nuclear astrophysics and applications. However, direct constraints are often impossible due to the unstable nature of the reactants. 

The Surrogate Reaction Method, in which the same compound nucleus that would be formed in the desired reaction is instead created in an experimentally tractable reaction, can provide indirect constraints on these important cross sections. I will discuss the Surrogate Reaction Method, recent and planned measurements, and new developments that will extend the reach of this method in the FRIB era.

Andrew Ratkiewicz completed his postgraduate study at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University, where he measured the evolution of collectivity in exotic isotopes of silicon and the collapse of the N=28 magic number. After graduating with his PhD, he moved to Oak Ridge National Lab, where he worked as a postdoc for Rutgers University to combine the Oak Ridge Rutgers University Barrel Array (ORRUBA) and GAMMASPHERE as a large-scale particle-gamma spectrometer. Andrew joined LLNL as a postdoctoral research staff member in 2015 and became a staff member in 2017. His research interests include nuclear astrophysics, where he has done work to develop indirect methods to probe neutron-induced reactions and to probe the strength of the interaction between nuclei and plasmas, neutron imaging—specifically the development of detectors and techniques to image objects with fast neutrons—and calculations of neutron transport focusing on the impact of uncertainties in nuclear data on the calculations.