On April 14th and 15th, NSSPI hosted a group of subject matter experts from the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Pantex Plant, both of which are managed and operated by Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS). The group consisted of Senior Director for Global Security and Strategic Partnerships Morris Hassler, Nuclear Engineer and International Safeguards Expert Jill Cooley, the Director of Technology Development Thomas Berg, Manager of Global Security Analysis and Training J. Toby Williams, Director of Program Development Perry Kent, and Director of Special Programs Wilma Fioravanti.
The group came to NSSPI to discuss future collaborative endeavors, including educational opportunities for NSSPI students and CNS staff members, joint research projects between the two organizations (among the three sites), student internships, staff exchanges between NSSPI and CNS, and the signing of an MOU. NSSPI has established itself as a leading research and educational organization for nuclear security, nonproliferation, and safeguards that can apply its resources, both in terms of personnel and facilities, to those of both the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Pantex Plant in order to help in solving near-term problems in the areas of nuclear materials management and arms control.
As part of their visit, Cooley delivered a lecture titled “The State Level Concept for Applied International Safeguards” during a meeting of the Texas A&M Student Chapter of the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management. The group was also available to graduate students from NSSPI and the Center for LArge-scale Scientific Simulations (CLASS) during an informal round table session in which students talked about their research and learned about opportunities available to them at Y-12 and Pantex.
As this was the first visit for all members of the group to the Texas A&M University campus, they toured numerous campus facilities, including the Nuclear Science Center’s TRIGA Research Reactor, the TEEX Disaster City Training Facility, and the Multi-purpose Research and Education Facility. The visit was organized by NSSPI research engineer Claudio Gariazzo, who led the discussions, in collaboration with NSSPI Director Dr. Sunil Chirayath, Professor of nuclear engineering Dr. Jim Morel, and NSSPI Deputy Director and nuclear engineering Assistant Professor Dr. Craig Marianno.
