In April, seven graduate students and two faculty and staff members from the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) participated in the 2026 Domestic Nuclear Facilities Experience (DNFE), a five-day trip to nuclear facilities in New Mexico and Texas. The experience provided Texas A&M students with a rare opportunity to observe how nuclear safeguards, fuel cycle operations, and radioactive waste disposal are implemented in real-world domestic nuclear facilities.
Participants visited Sandia National Laboratories, the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, the University of New Mexico, Urenco USA, and Waste Control Specialists. Throughout the trip, students connected classroom learning and research concepts to operational environments while engaging directly with technical experts, facility operators, safeguards practitioners, and professionals working across the nuclear enterprise.
The trip began on Monday with a visit to the Technology Testing and Demonstration Area at Sandia National Laboratories’ Center for Global Security and Cooperation. There, students were introduced to work related to nuclear monitoring and verification, international nuclear safeguards, and arms control.
The following day, students returned to Sandia for a full day of tours and technical discussions focused on monitoring, verification, satellite calibration, physical security, safeguards, and technology testing. Sandia staff also shared career experiences and discussed pathways into national laboratory work, safeguards research, technology development, and international security missions.
“This experience,” graduate student Jason Scott said of the Sandia visit, “opened my eyes to the scale and seriousness of the security and monitoring that must be implemented and maintained at a global scale.” Several students cited the Sandia tours as the highlight of the DNFE.
On Wednesday morning, the group visited the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque. The museum provided historical and technical context for the development of nuclear science, nuclear energy, weapons history, and the role of nuclear technologies in society. This stop helped place the technical facility visits within a broader historical and policy context.
Later that day, the group traveled to the University of New Mexico, where students participated in a safety-security integration activity designed by UNM student Lauren Crabtree. According to NSSPI student Peyton Carr, “Getting to go through a simulated nuclear security exercise at UNM was also fun because it allowed the groups to think through a scenario using the knowledge we gained from coursework.”
On Thursday, participants visited the Urenco USA facility in Eunice, New Mexico, the only operating commercial uranium enrichment facility in the United States. The visit gave students an in-depth look at enrichment operations and how safeguards concepts are applied in an operating facility. Participants toured cascade halls, chemistry laboratories, and storage areas while also speaking directly with chemistry laboratory staff.
During the tour, students followed the sampling process from the cascade hall to the laboratory. Staff provided detailed explanations of laboratory equipment and helped students understand how sampling, analysis, measurement, and reporting support both facility operations and safeguards objectives.
The group also met with the facility safeguards subject matter expert, who explained how Urenco USA is divided into Material Balance Areas and how the facility reports to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The discussion also addressed differences between NRC requirements and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards requirements.
For many students, the Urenco visit was especially valuable because it connected abstract safeguards concepts to day-to-day facility operations. Students saw how material balance areas, key measurement points, sampling, laboratory analysis, storage, and reporting are integrated into the work of a modern enrichment facility.
NSSPI student Travis Ford remarked, “The most valuable part [of the DNFE] was the Urenco USA tour. Seeing how safeguards are implemented in a modern enrichment plant and talking with some of their subject matter experts was incredible. I now have a reference point for how everything we learn in the NSSPI group is implemented in industry.”
On the final day, the group visited Waste Control Specialists in Andrews, Texas. The visit gave students a close look at the unique geology of the region and why the site is well-suited for low-level radioactive waste disposal. The group also discussed Waste Control Specialists’ role in providing treatment, storage, and disposal services for low-level radioactive waste and mixed low-level radioactive waste from commercial, government, medical, research, industrial, and Department of Energy-related sources.
In addition to the technical tours, career exploration was a major theme throughout the week. At every facility, staff discussed career paths and job opportunities, giving students a chance to interact with professionals in national laboratory research, facility operations, chemistry, safeguards, security, regulatory compliance, and waste management. These conversations helped students better understand the range of careers available across the nuclear enterprise.
“The most valuable part of the experience was making connections with the various lab personnel and staff,” said student participant John Corder. “These people not only provide great insight into their careers, but also the impact they make in the nuclear sector. You can also see how much they all love their jobs, which makes the experience more enjoyable.”
Students also appreciated the positive work cultures they observed at the different locations they visited. “I was inspired by the positive work culture, professionalism, and strong safety and security culture demonstrated by the employees,” said NSSPI student Mariana Sorroza-Aguilar, “which reinforced my excitement for pursuing a career in the nuclear industry.”
Overall, the DNFE gave students access to facilities and experts that are rarely available through classroom instruction alone. Participants saw safeguards, security, enrichment, monitoring, verification, and waste disposal concepts applied in real settings. More importantly, they had met the professionals responsible for turning safeguards, safety, and security principles into daily practice.
According to NSSPI student Christine Mathew, “The DNFE made me excited and grateful to be part of the upcoming group that will help shape the nuclear field today! It was an incredible opportunity to better understand how facilities support safety, security, and safeguards in different ways at all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle.”
The DNFE is sponsored by the Office of the International Nuclear Safeguards in the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.