Since 2012 the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) Research and Development has supported three, $25M university consortia in 5-year increments. After a decade of operation, the NNSA expanded its university-supported research scope to nuclear forensics through the addition of a fourth consortium. We will introduce the core values of the newly awarded Consortium for Nuclear Forensics (CNF) and highlight the five research thrusts that align with DNN’s nuclear forensics mission. The CNF is a highly collaborative, technically- and demographically diverse mix of sixteen universities and seven US National Laboratories jointly working to advance scientific discoveries, technologies, and capabilities for nuclear forensics. Faculty and national laboratory collaborators' expertise spans disciplines including radiochemistry, geochemistry, analytical chemistry, nuclear physics, nuclear material science, shock physics, quantum-enabled sensing, high-performance computing (HPC), and data science. Collectively, the CNF’s goal is to enable fundamental science and engineering for the processing, characterization, determination, and quantification of materials for use in nuclear forensics applications while developing a robust human capital pipeline for the nation. The research focus of the consortia is structured in five distinct research Thrust Areas (TAs): TA1-Rapid Turnaround Forensics, TA2-Advanced Analytical Methods, TA3Ultrasensitive Measurements, TA4-Signature Discovery, and TA5-Prompt Effects and Measurements. In addition to these TAs, CNF has a cross-cutting area focused on facilitating HPC and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven capabilities to accelerate solutions within individual TAs. A summary of each thrust area is provided that highlights specific projects as well as outlines the aspirational vision of how the research products could impact the national forensics mission.
Year
2024
Abstract