Nuclear security, nonproliferation focus of National Lab’s summer school

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently co-sponsored the weeklong Nuclear Security and Nonproliferation Summer School, which introduced participating students to the lab and provided overviews of emergency response, nuclear forensics, and treaty verification.

LLNL joined the Nuclear Science and Security Consortium (NSSC) to sponsor the program, which was led by the University of California, Berkeley, for 20 college students from across America who focused on critical areas within the nuclear nonproliferation missions of the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Students had the opportunity to perform hands-on activities in a unique facility that supports research and development and high-fidelity training activities for various partners. The facility is equipped with a range of radiation materials and sources, including special nuclear materials and neutron and X-ray generators.

During the first day of the workshop, Huban Gowadia, principal associate director of Global Security at LLNL, introduced the students to the lab. Program leader Amy Watersand provided an overview of the Nuclear Threat Reduction Program, and Nuclear and Chemical Science (NACS) Division Leader Dawn Shaughnessy discussed the fundamental science performed in the NACS division and how the same skills are applicable to contributing to the nonproliferation mission area.

Following those presentations, the students learned about the history of LLNL and the laboratory’s role in strategic stability from Tom Ramos, who provided an overview of his book, From Berkeley to Berlin .

The students then toured LLNL facilities, including the National Ignition Facility and the Additive Manufacturing Laboratory.

The next day of the workshop, which was coordinated by Jessica Mintz, who is part of the Radiological Assistance Program (RAP) at LLNL, focused on emergency response. Mintz gave students an overview of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team and the types of events for which they provide assistance, followed by a discussion of previous case studies and considerations for responding to such events.

After the presentations, students participated in a search and identification exercise in which they were provided with equipment used by the lab’s RAP team and trained on how to use it. The students also conducted an exercise to localize radiological materials hidden in various locations.

On day three, which was organized by LLNL scientist Greg Brennecka and focused on nuclear forensics, students walked through an interactive nuclear crime scene with LLNL researchers Frank Wong and Sid Niemeyer. The students learned about considerations for crime-scene management and how practitioners in the space must be deliberate about what samples are taken and which measurements are prioritized.

Following lectures on nuclear materials case studies and various technologies that are currently used to analyze samples for attribution, the students participated in a hands-on interactive module that allowed them to use the considerations and topics learned earlier in the day. They also toured various laboratories that are used to analyze samples for nuclear forensics. The day concluded with a question-and-answer session with Laboratory Director Kim Budil.

The last day of the summer school focused on a day-long treaty verification exercise organized by LLNL scientist Bonnie Canion. Throughout the exercise, the students had access to various verification technologies to understand what design signatures were vulnerable and then used these tools to verify that the opposing team had dismantled their device.

Students who attended the summer school were selected from all four of the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) consortia: the NSSC, the Consortium for Monitoring Technology and Verification, the Consortium for Enabling Technologies and Innovation, and the Consortium for Nuclear Forensics.

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