Three senior scientists with the Brazilian Institute for Nuclear and Energy Research (IPEN) visited the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) from November 29 to December 1, 2016 to learn about NSSPI’s nuclear security curriculum. The U.S. Department of State’s Partnership for Nuclear Security sponsored the visit of Professors Jorge Sarkis, Osvaldo Negrini, and Delvonei Alves De Andrade to NSSPI in support of developing a nuclear security education and research program at IPEN.
Sarkis, Negrini, and Alves interacted with faculty and researchers from across multiple disciplines to discuss the various types of courses that contribute to nuclear science studies at Texas A&M, including security science systems and design, nuclear security vulnerability analysis, nuclear forensics, nuclear nonproliferation, consequence management, radiochemistry, and inverse problems. In addition, five NSSPI graduate students presented their thesis or dissertation research in various nuclear security-related areas to outline the breadth and depth of research possibilities in this discipline. This included ongoing research in the integration of nuclear safety and security applications, nuclear forensics, novel radiation detectors, and special nuclear material detection in cargo containers.
As part of their visit, the Brazilian visitors also toured the radiochemistry laboratory, the nuclear security sciences laboratory, the TEES Nuclear Science Center (and its TRIGA reactor), and the TEEX Disaster City facility.
Upon their return from the U.S., the visitors intend to plan nuclear security-related field exercises at IPEN with NSSPI support, develop nuclear security courses or modular lecture units in nuclear security, and facilitate scientific exchanges of researchers and students between the two institutions.
