Dr. P. Andrew Karam is a nationally and internationally respected radiation safety professional with over 35 years of experience in his field. He began his career in the US Navy’s nuclear power program, assigned as a radiation safety specialist on a nuclear attack submarine. Upon leaving the Navy, he continued his career, taking positions in academia, state government, as a consultant in private practice, and as a WMD scientist with the New York City Police Department’s Counterterrorism Division before accepting his current position as Homeland Security Scientific Advisor with Mirion Technologies.
Karam has earned degrees in Geology (B.A. and M.S.) and Environmental Science (Ph.D.) and is board-certified in health physics by the American Board of Health Physics. He has authored 17 books, 6 book chapters, and over 30 refereed papers in addition to hundreds of editorials, essays, magazine, and encyclopedia articles, and blog postings on various aspects ofradiation and nuclear safety. He also presents papers, invited lectures, and posters at meetings throughout the US and internationally.
Karam also tries to remain active in his profession outside of work. To that end, he has served on several committees of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Management (where he co-authored reports addressing various aspects of radiological and nuclear terrorism), two committees of the US National Academy of Science, and serves as Web Manager for the International Radiation Protection Association. He has made a number of international trips on behalf of the IAEA and the Health Physics Society, including to Cambodia, Lithuania, Uruguay, Cyprus, and Paraguay. More recently, he travelled to Japan shortly after the tsunami and reactor accident, providing training to emergency and medical responders caring for patients from radiological areas, and he continues to provide training to emergency responders throughout the US and overseas.
Karam’s current focus is on issues related to radiological and nuclear weapon interdiction and response to terrorist attacks. To that end, he works extensively with emergency responders at all levels of government as well as with Mirion, a radiation instrumentation company, to develop instruments, procedures, operational concepts, and more. His extensive experience across the field of radiation safety will provide the foundation for this book.