Nuclear forensics education at the University of Texas at Austin
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Nuclear forensics education at the University of Texas at Austin S. Landsberger • S. Biegalski • R. Kapsimalis M. Pryor • D. Tamalis
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Received: 21 July 2012 / Published online: 23 August 2012 Ó Akade´miai Kiado´, Budapest, Hungary 2012
Abstract Nuclear forensics continues to be an integral part of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration. As with our previous three-year Nuclear Forensics Education Award Program we will continue to offer a comprehensive educational program and closely collaborate with national laboratories to pursue common research. Our research will primarily focus on analysis of radioactive debris following a nuclear or radiological dispersive device event or the investigation of the pedigree of nuclear materials in nonproliferation. This research will include using Compton suppression and gamma coincidence low-level gamma ray counting, investigation of nuclear fuel cycles for nonproliferation, on-site inspection within the context of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and radioxenon detection physics. We also offer a graduate program in nuclear robotics, an interdisciplinary program in the automation of handling special nuclear materials. To better equip our students who are entering the workforce at the national laboratories and government agencies we are also proposing the development of several new laboratory modules for non-destructive identification of fission S. Landsberger (&) S. Biegalski R. Kapsimalis Nuclear Engineering Teaching Lab, R-9000, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA e-mail: [email protected] M. Pryor Nuclear Robotics Program, Microelectronics and Engineering Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, PRC-160, Austin, TX 78712, USA D. Tamalis Department of Health and Natural Sciences, Florida Memorial University, 15800 NW 42nd Avenue Miami Gardens, Miami Gardens, FL 33054, USA
products in environmental samples and irradiated uranium specimens at various enrichments and characterizing naturally occurring radioactive material. Collaboration with Florida Memorial University a Historically Black Colleges and Universities will continue for training and collaborative research. Keywords
Nuclear Forensics Nuclear Education
Introduction In the fifteenth century the Latin term ‘‘forensis’’ came to being meaning to belong to the public forum. Later the word forensics was incorporated into the English language to mean ‘‘pertaining to, connected with, or used in courts of law or public discussion and debate’’. In recent years the word forensics has been popularized in the media and popculture in the many television shows and movies as part of crime scene investigations. Today the term nuclear forensics is the detection and analysis of nuclear materials before they are used in a terrorist plot, the analysis of radioactive debris following a nuclear event or the investigation of the pedigree of nuclear materials in nonproliferation. As pointed out succinctly
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