Dr. Debora Trombetta, a visiting scholar from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in Brazil, spent six weeks in residence at NSSPI as part of a visiting research fellowship program sponsored by the US Department of State’s Partnership for Nuclear Security (PNS) to promote nuclear security research and curriculum development at UFRJ. She spent an additional three weeks at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), where she met with nuclear security experts , toured facilities, and further expanded her network in this field.
While at NSSPI, Dr. Trombetta worked with NSSPI research engineer, Mr. Claudio Gariazzo, to develop a nuclear security module to be incorporated into a larger fuel cycle and nuclear safety course currently being taught at UFRJ. She also used her expertise to contribute to a small research project in support of practical education at Texas A&M University, creating a radiological surveillance exercise for use in our radiation detection laboratory facility. She also interacted daily with NSSPI students and staff and became familiar with the research they are conducting in the area of nuclear security.
Dr. Trombetta previously visited NSSPI and Texas A&M to attend the Nuclear Security Training Series held in July of 2015 for faculty and staff from Indian universities. UFRJ students and faculty are set to participate in the next Nuclear Security Training Series in the summer of 2016. The Nuclear Security Training Series is a workshop focusing on training in nuclear security culture and insider threat and the presentation of research in nuclear security. It is organized and hosted by NSSPI, SNL, and Oak Ridge National, coordinated by CRDF Global, and sponsored by PNS.