Nuclear Forensics Undergraduate Summer School (NFUSS) Program
NFUSS is a paid undergraduate summer school program that will introduce undergraduate science, mathematics, and engineering students to the field of nuclear forensics. Nuclear forensics involves examining materials recovered from radiological and nuclear events of an illicit or hostile nature in order to determine their character and origin. Nuclear forensics conclusions, combined with information from law enforcement investigation and intelligence, help identify those responsible for planned and actual attacks.
Nuclear forensics supports the U.S. Government commitment to identify and hold fully accountable any state or non-state actor that willfully supports, enables, or engages in hostile weapons of mass destruction activities that threaten the United States or our allies and partners.
Selected students participate in a six-week course composed of a series of lectures, laboratory experiments, practical exercises, and a field trip to ORNL focused on major topics that relate to nuclear forensics.
At the completion of this summer school, students will understand:
- The chart of nuclides, and be able to utilize it
- Different modes of radioactive decay
- Components of the nucleus and how it influences nuclear properties
- How fission is induced and the resulting products
- Radiation detection or mass spectroscopy and be able to determine isotope concentration or ratios
- The fundamental components of the nuclear fuel cycle
- Nuclear reactors and reactor physics
- The application of analytical methods in characterizing materials
- Plutonium processing
- Contemporary issues in nuclear forensics
The program will cover your tuition, fees, housing, meals, and travel reimbursement for the program at the University of Texas-Austin and for the field trip to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
You will receive a $5,000 stipend that will be paid by the university to you directly as part of your appointment in the NFUSS program.