Citation:
W. S. Charlton, W. Bangerth, D. R. Boyle, S. S. Chirayath, G. Gaukler, C. Marianno, A. Vedlitz, “SHIELD: A Framework for Evaluating and Guiding Nuclear Detection System Development”, The 4th annual Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) Academic Research Initiative (ARI) Grantees Conference, Alexandria, Virginia, April 26-28, 2011.
Abstract:
The SHIELD project is a five-year, multi-disciplinary effort, led by the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) at Texas A&M University (TAMU). The overall purpose of this project is to demonstrate the ability to develop, analyze, and deploy new detector concepts with fully integrated signal and information analysis to attain breakthrough improvements in the nation”s ability to detect domestic nuclear threats. This framework leads to predictive knowledge through the integration of optimized radiation detection sensor arrays, radiation transport forward models with massively parallelized deterministic transport simulations, inverse analysis, systems and risk analysis, social science components, and novel sensor approaches. In this presentation, we will describe the SHIELD framework and key accomplishments achieved to date. We will also show a detailed example of the SHIELD framework applied to a cargo transportation scenario. This includes demonstrating how the framework integrates information across multiple levels and how it can lead to new insights in detector design requirements.