Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) Director and Associate Professor of nuclear engineering at Texas A&M University Dr. Sunil Chirayath has been named to the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) World Research Hub Initiative (WRHI) as a specially appointed associate professor. WRHI is part of the Institute of Innovative Research at Tokyo […]
NSSPI Leads Domestic Nuclear Facilities Experience for Students
From May 13 through 17, the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) led a Domestic Nuclear Facilities Experience (DNFE) in New Mexico. The tour included visits to a series of operational nuclear fuel cycle facilities and national laboratories, including Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the Waste Isolation Pilot […]
NSSPI Helps Conduct Workshop at PDPU in India
From May 14 through 16, the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) collaborated with Sandia and Oak Ridge National Laboratories to provide technical support for a workshop titled “Incorporating both Technical and Human Elements to Reduce Hazards and Vulnerabilities in Sensitive Facilities” organized by the Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) in Gandhinagar, […]
INMM Student Chapter Holds Workshop on Advanced Reactor Safeguards
In April, the Texas A&M Student Chapter of the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) hosted a professional workshop on advanced reactor safeguards in College Station with support from the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI). “With advanced reactors being a very hot topic in the nuclear industry today,” said Mario Mendoza, […]
NSSPI Graduates for Spring 2019
Four NSSPI graduate students will be walking across the stage to receive their degrees this May. All four will be earning their Master’s of Science in Nuclear Engineering. Ryan Coogan Adviser: Dr. Craig MariannoMaster’s of Science in Nuclear Engineering Abstract: The challenge of an adequately detailed smuggling network problem is that the number of variables […]
NSSPI Students Research Safety Concerns for Urban Search and Rescue Dogs and Their Handlers in Contaminated Environments
Urban search and rescue (USAR) dogs are a familiar member of most emergency response teams. We often see footage of these dogs working in difficult environments after major disasters to help find and rescue survivors and recover remains. A search and rescue dog must complete many months of rigorous training to be certified to complete […]
NSSPI Hosts Radiation Disaster Response Exercise for Tokyo Institute of Technology
From February 25-26, thirteen students and faculty members from the Advanced Nuclear 3S Education and Training program at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) visited the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) to participate in a radiation disaster response exercise and an academic exchange with NSSPI students. The Tokyo Tech students […]
NSSPI Co-Hosts Nuclear Safety and Security Workshop in Brazil
From December 10 to 12, the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) partnered with the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN) and the University of Sao Paulo (USP) to organize an international workshop in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The workshop, titled “Career Opportunities for Graduates in Nuclear Safety and Security,” was focused on […]
NSSPI Conducts Nuclear Security Workshop for South African Utility
In November, Dr. Craig Marianno and Dr. Jeremy Osborn from the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI), along with Fred Marcussen of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, travelled to Cape Town, South Africa to conduct a nuclear security workshop at ESKOM, the South African electricity utility that operates the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. […]
NSSPI signs MOA with PDPU for Nuclear Security Research and Education Collaboration
In September, Professor Chaitanyamoy Ganguly, professor of nuclear engineering, and Mr. Abhinav Kapadia, chief financial officer, from Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) in Gandhinagar, India visited Texas A&M University to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between PDPU and the Texas A&M College of Engineering, specifically the Department of Nuclear Engineering, the Center for Nuclear […]
Detecting Environmental Radiation at Tailgates
By Savanna Hoover | It’s gameday in College Station, late September. Maroon and white tents cover the campus. There’s an electric spirit in the air, an energy beginning to build momentum. Standing next to the A.I. Engineering building’s yellow brick walls, underneath a line of concrete carved cattle heads, 10 nuclear engineering students split into […]
NSSPI Welcomes New Stanton Fellows
In September, two new Stanton Nuclear Security Fellows joined the Department of Nuclear Engineering and will be working with the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) for the 2018-2019 academic year. The Stanton Nuclear Security Fellows Program supports young scholars to pursue policy-relevant technical research in nuclear security for a twelve-month period […]
Osborn Wins Student Paper Award at the INMM Annual Meeting
Jeremy Osborn won the J.D. Williams Student Paper Award at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) took place from July 22-26 in Baltimore, Maryland. Osborn is a Ph.D. student in the department of nuclear engineering working with the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) Director Dr. […]
NSSPI researchers develop new methodologies to discriminate weapons-grade plutonium from various nuclear reactor types
Nuclear forensics involves using analytical techniques to determine the origin and history of nuclear materials, in particular those that have been intercepted from smuggling operations or recovered following a nuclear explosion. According to Jeremy Osborn, a nuclear engineering Ph.D. student working with the TEES Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI), “The growing […]
NSSPI Students Attend NDA Short Course at ORNL
From November 13-16, twelve Texas A&M University nuclear engineering graduate students from the TEES Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) traveled to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to participate in a short course in non-destructive assay (NDA) techniques at ORNL’s Safeguards Laboratory. The course consisted of lectures and hands-on experience […]
Chirayath Takes Part in Panel Discussion on Iran Nuclear Deal
On November 9, Sunil Chirayath, director of the TEES Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute and associate professor of nuclear engineering, participated in a panel discussion on the Iran nuclear deal as part of the Bush School of Government and Public Service’s “What’s Next” series. Attracting nearly 100 people from across the Texas A&M University […]
NSSPI Supports Nuclear Security Workshop in Indonesia
The TEES Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) collaborated with the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Indonesia to conduct a 3-day nuclear security workshop in Yogyakarta, Indonesia during the week of August 21st. The “Workshop on Insider Threat, Nuclear Security Culture, and Human Element in Nuclear Security” was coordinated by UGM professor Dr. Sihana […]
NSSPI Conducts Nuclear Facilities Experience in UK
The TEES Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) organized the Fourth Nuclear Facilities Experience (NFE) from June 26-30 in the United Kingdom. This NFE, sponsored by the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Next Generation Safeguards Initiative Program Office, consisted of visits to several nuclear fuel cycle facilities. It is an opportunity for nuclear […]