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Coupled End-to-End (CETE) Demonstration at ORNL
NSSPI is collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to develop advanced safeguards measurement techniques using the CETE demonstration. ORNL has acquired spent nuclear fuel to be reprocessed at a laboratory scale within their facilities under the Global Nuclear Engineering Partnership (GNEP). NSSPI is contributing to the overall project by providing student, faculty, and staff involvement in performing measurements, analyzing data, simulating experiments, and developing techniques.

Direction Sensitive Neutron Detectors for Border Monitoring
This project is part of a larger 5-year effort to advance the national capability to detect and interdict shielded HEU. These efforts focus on the development of a new detector system capable of detecting the presence, energy, and incoming direction of neutrons.

Human Resource Development
As a premier educational institution, Texas A & M University and NSSPI are working with the U.S. Department of Energy, other U.S. universities, foreign government agencies and universities, private industry, and other international organizations such as the World Nuclear University and the International Atomic Energy Agency in helping to develop the next generation nuclear security and safeguards specialists to keep in line with the global nuclear renaissance.

Inverse Transport for Border Monitoring
Radiation portal monitors help prevent illicit trafficking of nuclear material; however, they can also impede legitimate travel and trade with a time-consuming screening process. The algorithm we are developing will allow border agents to identify the location of a radioactive source quickly and accurately so as to reduce the impact on vehicle throughput at border crossings

Miniature Distributed Detector Arrays Mounted on a Biological Sensor Platform
We propose an integrated nuclear detection system utilizing cockroach-based sensor platforms. The system is able to detect, collect, and predict activities that are related to nuclear weapons and dirty bombs.

Motivating Factors of States Seeking to Acquire Civil Nuclear Programs
This project is directed toward using historical data to achieve a better understanding of why states acquire civil nuclear energy facilities. The central underlying idea is that such an understanding could lead to design of programs and policies that encourage states toward the peaceful use of nuclear energy (Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) without facilitating the development of nuclear weapons capability (Articles I and II of the NPT).

Motivations of Proliferation
Evaluation of the motivations for establishing and pursuing nuclear weapons programs using the case studies of North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Libya, and Ukraine.

Next Generation Nonproliferation Regime
This project evaluates the effectiveness of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and advocates a new way forward for nonproliferation negotiations.

Nuclear Weapons Latency
Nuclear Weapons Latency refers to the time it would take a state to develop a nuclear weapons capability given its current level of technology, resources available, and priority given to the weapon program. The goal of this project is to develop a quantitative tool that can be used to predict a state's nuclear weapons latency.

Post Nuclear Event Attribution and Nuclear Forensics
Developing computational and experimental methods for solving inverse problems for determining pre-event material attributes using post-event signatures and developing forensics capabilities to determine the origin of seized materials. Progress on techniques for determining nuclear facility histories from activation signatures

Proliferation Resistance Methods Development
The ability to accurately and reliably assess the proliferation threat of nuclear fuel cycle technology is critical to the nonproliferation regime and nuclear renaissance. Development of proliferation resistance methodologies allows for a quantitative assessment of a proliferation threat, allowing policy and technical experts to rationally assess the threat many situations may pose.

Real-Time Detection Methods to Monitor TRU Composition in the UREX + Process Stream
The Real-Time Detection Methods to Monitor TRU Composition in the UREX + Process Stream project consists of using traditional and innovative safeguards methods to develop a safeguards approach for the URanium EXtraction (UREX)+1a reprocessing process. This involves looking into new detection methods such as the Tensioned Meta-stable Fluid Detector (TMFD) and the methods being developed in the Coupled End-to-End Demonstration (CETE) and incorporating techniques like process monitoring.

Russian Academic Program on Nonproliferation and International Security
This project is a collaboration between U.S., Russian, French, and Swiss partners to develop nuclear nonproliferation education programs in the U.S. and Russia

SHIELD (Smuggled HEU Interdiction through Enhanced anaLysis and Detection): A Framework for Developing Novel Detection Systems Focused on Interdicting Shielded HEU
This project is a five-year, multi-disciplinary effort, led by NSSPI. Its primary goal is to devise and test an innovative framework for evaluating and developing nuclear detection systems based on complete signal and information integration. This framework will lead to predictive knowledge through the integration of optimized radiation detection sensor arrays, radiation transport forward models, inverse analysis, systems and risk analysis, social science components and novel sensor approaches.

Safeguards Approaches for Fast Breeder Reactors and Associated Fuel Cycle Facilities
This project is a preliminary conceptual study of design of modern safeguards directly into the planning and building of new fast breeder reactors and associated fuel cycle facilities. The project is based on a generic fast-breeder reactor design as determined only from information available in the public domain and it is directed toward a pre-conceptual design study for the integration of modern safeguards directly into the planning and building of new fast breeder reactors, and associated fuel cycle facilities, in order to permit IAEA (or other inspecting entity) to effectively and efficiently monitor and verify nuclear material in a manner that provides minimal intrusion into normal plant or facility operations.

Safeguards Instrumentation Development for Measuring Pu Content in Spent Fuel
The direct measurement of total fissile content in spent fuel assemblies is necessary to safeguard against the diversion of fissile materials to illegal weapons use and improve material accountability. The primary objective of this work is to develop and assess the sensitivity of using Self-Interrogation Neutron Resonance Densitometry (SINRD) for the measurement of the plutonium and uranium content in spent fuel assemblies and process materials.

Safeguards Instrumentation Development for Measuring Pu via Coincident Neutron-Gamma Signals
This project is a feasibility study on a portable coupled gamma-neutron coincidence counter using He-3 tubes and LaBr nanoparticles that are being developed at LANL. It could result in a new type of coincidence counter that could have more reliable results with less associated error due to the use of both types of particles.

State-Level Nuclear Security Measures
Development of the capability for a state to perform a detailed analysis of the state-wide nuclear infrastructure and determine that states vulnerability as well as determine where available resources will have the biggest impact to improve the nuclear security of the state.

Study of Future Safeguards Applications in North Korea
This project is designed to show that the nuclear fuel cycle in North Korea could have safeguards implemented to ensure that no material is used in a weapons program. The goal of the project is to completely analyze the three major components in the fuel cycle (fuel fabrication facility, 5 MWe reactor, and Radiochemical Laboratory) to determine if it is possible to set up the apparatus necessary to detect diversion of material to a weapons program

Terrorism Pathway Analysis and Assessments
Development of tools to analyze the most likely paths a terrorist organization might take toward the acquisition of a nuclear or radiological weapon and assessing the challenges posed to a terrorist organization.

The Safeguards Envelope Methodology
The Safeguards Envelope Project seeks to design operating and safeguards parameters to increase the confidence as to the location and assay of nuclear material. This project helps use existing data to help further secure nuclear material for the benefit of operators and regulators.

Transparency Methods Development using Fission Product Signatures
A method for unique identification of spent nuclear fuel has been developed in order to enhance transparency in international safeguards. The method relies on distinguishable differences in fission product concentrations produced in the spent fuel as a result of variations reactor power history.

List of All NSSPI Projects