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Nuclear weapon investigation aided by work of DHS Scholar

 (Sept. 22, 2006)

    Research being conducted at Texas A&M is examining the traceability of fission materials following the detonation of a nuclear weapon – an ability that could have significant impact on the war on terror as the U.S. confronts rising nuclear threats from foreign powers and terrorist organizations.

   At the forefront of this research is Adrienne LaFleur, a 2005 DHS Scholar. Through her research, Adrienne has moved beyond discussions of motivations for further development nuclear materials for weaponization to studying how, once a weapon is detonated, the original nuclear materials can be determined.  Identification of the original materials used in a nuclear weapon is important because it significantly increases the probability of identifying the perpetrator of the attack. This methodology is a small part of a much larger program called Domestic Nuclear Event Attribution (DNEA).

    “An outcome of the research is the development of an algorithm that uses measured isotopic ratios from fission product residue following the detonation of a nuclear weapon to compute the original attributes of the nuclear material used in the weapon,” describes Adrienne. In developing the algorithm, she used simulations of fission products in order to work backward and identify the original material in the device.

    To date, Adrienne’s research has lead to a paper presentation at the International Nuclear Materials Management National Conference in Nashville in July 2006. Her paper will be published in the INMM journal.

    “This project is important to homeland security because in theory it can affect the data protocol used in the event of the detonation of a terrorist device. It could also be used to discover the illegal testing of nuclear weapons around the world,” says Adrienne.

    Future directions for Adrienne’s research include the assessment of methods that a terrorist could use to thwart the identification techniques presented by the algorithm that she has developed. Adrienne looks to graduate from Texas A&M in Spring 2007 with a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering.