Padraic Shafer
Computational Scientist / Group Leader, Data Analysis & Workflow Integration, National Synchrotron Light Source II

Brookhaven National Laboratory
National Synchrotron Light Source II
Bldg. 741
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
Padraic Shafer is the Data Analysis & Workflow Integration group leader in the Data Science & Systems Integration division at NSLS-II. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from UC Berkeley, and has more than 20 years of experience investigating electronic materials. Prior to joining BNL in 2023, Shafer was in research and leadership positions at the Advanced Light Source (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), where he led and collaborated on a variety of research projects, and developed scientific instrumentation and software to pursue synchrotron x-ray experiments with facility users. His career started at IBM in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York, pursuing developments in the field of microelectronics that generated multiple US Patents.
Research | Education | Appointments | Awards
Research Activities
- Intuitive graphical interfaces for synchrotron experiments & data exploration
- Modular workflows for data extraction + reduction + analysis
- Scalable computing for beamline data analysis
Education
University of California, Berkeley, CA
- Ph. D., Materials Science and Engineering, Dec. 2009
- Minors in Solid-State Physics and Technology Management
- Designated Emphasis in Nanoscale Science and Engineering
- M. S., Materials Science and Engineering, Dec. 2006
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL
- B. S., Materials Science and Engineering with Highest Honors, May 1999
Professional Appointments
National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton NY
- Oct. 2023 – Present, Group Leader, Data Analysis & Workflow Integration
- Jul. 2023 – Present, Computational Scientist
Advanced Light Source (ALS), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
- 2019 – 2023, Program Lead, X-ray Dichroism
- 2017 – 2023, Staff Scientist
- 2012 – 2017, Research Scientist
- 2009 – 2012, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), University of California, Berkeley, CA
- 2004 – 2009, Graduate Student Researcher
Semiconductor Research and Development Center (SRDC), IBM Microelectronics, East Fishkill, NY
- 2002 – 2004, Process Integration Engineer, Logic & Embedded-RAM Alliance for Development
- 1999 – 2002, Process Development Engineer, DRAM Development Alliance
Awards & Recognition
In 2019, Shafer received the David A. Shirley Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the ALS Users' Executive Committee for "Unveiling the nature of chiral quantum materials through the innovative use of x-ray scattering at the Advanced Light Source". He is the coinventor of microelectronic fabrication processes and device structures that were awarded seven US Patents.

Brookhaven National Laboratory
National Synchrotron Light Source II
Bldg. 741
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000