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.

The 2024 NSSC-LLNL Nuclear Security and Nonproliferation Summer School is calling for application (due March 15, 2024). A group of ETI members attended the summer school in 2023. It features lectures and hands-on experimental modules covering various aspects of nuclear risk reduction. Participants formed teams to engage in hands-on experimental modules aimed at tackling challenges in warhead verification, emergency response, and nuclear forensics.

In the Warhead Verification module, scholars conducted neutron and gamma-ray measurements to confirm the presence or absence of nuclear and moderator materials before and after simulated dismantlement. The Emergency Response module challenged scholars to characterize an unidentified threat using passive neutron and gamma-ray measurements, alongside active interrogation techniques.

Lastly, in the Nuclear Forensics module, scholars investigated and trace the origins of nuclear and radiological materials through measuring radiation signatures and isotopic compositions of simulated nuclear samples.

Over the last three years, Energy Impact Center (EIC) have met with leading experts across climate and energy, mapping out challenges and opportunities to form the foundation for future work. This work features a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities within the field of nuclear energy and explores how the fundamentals of utilizing atomic energy yield orders of magnitude better performance and less waste over all alternatives. At Ep. 423, EIC conducted one-on-one interview with ETI graduate student Natalie Cannon from Georgia Institute of Technology, discussing:

• Natalie’s last minute switch from film to STEM – How she settled on nuclear engineering.
• An exploration of manufacturing techniques, finding mentors, and invaluable pieces of advice.
• Natalie’s research and a dive into neutron noise, criticality, and robots.
• Celebrating past accomplishments and looking toward what younger generations can help achieve in the future.

ETI hosted a How to Apply to Graduate School Workshop event that presents opportunities in non-proliferation R&D on November 18-19 (Friday and Saturday), 2022, at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center, 800 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, GA. Our aim is to host this event for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) engineering students, and the goal is to draw more diversity into our partner institutions.

The workshop includes:

• Best practices in applying to graduate school
• Tips on getting funding while a graduate student
• Tours of GA Tech laboratory facilities
• Graduate research opportunities at consortium partners
• Networking with faculty and students from leading research universities
• Diverse career opportunities in non-proliferation R&D

ETI headquarter welcomed and had a in-person meeting with eight visitors from Europe who visited Atlanta in the week of July 11, 2022, under the auspices of the US Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program with the theme of “Deterrence Today, Disarmament Tomorrow.”

During their visit, the State Department has requested a meeting with Georgia Tech’s Consortium for Enabling Technologies and Innovation, which was coordinated by the Georgia Council for International Visitors (GCIV). Professor Steven Biegalski gave an introductory presentation to the visitors to discuss the ETI Consortium’s mission, research works, and partnerships on July 15, 2022.