This research includes studies of: nuclear structure primarily oriented toward exploration of collective multi- photon level-multiplets, such as quadrupole-quadrupole, quadrupole-octupole, and octupole-octupole multiplets; mixed symmetry states called into notice by the Interacting Boson Model in which protons and neutrons are in different boson bases, with different energies and different residual interaction strengths, neutron scattering as a probe of the strong, specific differences in electric quadrupole excitations seen by neutrons as opposed to other hadrons or leptons; and astrophysics-related reactions important to an eventual Bromine solar neutrino detector, and the Iodine reactions leading to Xenon, relevant to another and potentially more powerful neutrino detector.