ETI consortium successfully hosted its fourth ETI Annual Summer School. The Part I of this summer school was virtually held on June 12 – August 7, 2024, and received about 30 registrations. The Part II of 2024 ETI Summer School was held in-person at Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, on August 11 – 16, 2024, with 15 participants at various academic levels and backgrounds selected from both universities and national labs in US.

In this program, cross-cutting technologies across core disciplines for nuclear nonproliferation were explored, including data science and nuclear nonproliferation, instrumentation in fuel cycle monitoring, material selection  and sensor manufacturing, facility surveillance and predictive analytics. In addition to invited lectures and panel discussion by research scientists, in-person hands-on experiments, lab demonstrations and tours were also conducted for the Part II, including travel to ORNL to meet phenomenal scientists and tour comprehensive & advanced labs.

This summer school was a great success according to the feedback from participants, for example, Kassidy Aztergo, who is a PhD student in Chemistry from The Ohio State University, “I have met some phenomenal leaders during this summer school. I was totally was inspired by their talks and the hands-on experience, especially during the Early Career Luncheon at ORNL. Thank these scientists for showing the possibilities of career advancement, while prioritizing family commitments and for proving that a non-linear career path can build you into a capable, well-rounded scientist!” (click here for more details)

Dr. Raymond Cao, Nuclear Engineering Professor & Nuclear Reactor Lab Director at the Ohio State University, who is also the lead of Thrust Area 3 of ETI consortium, has been appointed by the Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to the Ohio Nuclear Development Authority. The authority is responsible for the development of advanced nuclear reactor commercialization, isotope production and nuclear waste reduction.

On March 7, 2024, DOE/NNSA Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control hosted a Women in Strategic Trade (WiST) U.S. Roundtable at the JW Marriott Hotel Washington, DC (1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) for early career professionals interested in pursuing a career in strategic trade controls.  The event features keynote speakers from leaders in the U.S. strategic trade control interagency, a roundtable panel on careers in strategic trade controls and agencies’ role in the U.S. export control system, and a facilitated networking session. The ETI Consortium was invited to attend the event. As ETI students, Natalie Cannon and Mackenzie Duce from Georgia Institute of Technology joined this event.

The mission of the WiST Initiative is to promote the advancement, leadership, and meaningful participation of women in all areas of strategic trade controls.  The WiST Initiative is organized by three (3) guiding pillars: 1) Empowerment, 2) Capacity Building, and 3) Community Engagement.  The three (3) pillars represent WiST overarching goals and activities that contribute to achieving its strategic objectives. 

ETI consortium hosted the 2024 ETI Workshop at Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, on February 20-21. Over 80 participants representing university partners, national laboratories, and the government joined together to build and strengthen the research collaboration between the labs and the universities. The workshop also created and cultivated a research and education environment to support cross-cutting technologies across three thrust areas for nuclear nonproliferation. In addition to the welcome remarks, followed by technical talks, poster presentations, as well as recruitment session, and lab tour, this workshop had Dr. Siegfried Hecker, the fifth Director of LANL (1986~1997), to give a keynote speech in the Opening Session, and discuss “the movie Oppenheimer and beyond” in the Reception Session. This event is primarily in-person with hybrid option available for select participants. All presenters attended in-person. More details are available on the workshop website.