Study Abroad: UCF has become one of the 16 universities to form a consortium on Nuclear Forensics 

Sixteen U.S. universities have formed a consortium on nuclear forensics. Now, UCF is one among them. The consortium aims to support the NNSA’s (National Nuclear Security Administration) missions on nuclear security and non-proliferation. Creation of the next-generation nuclear scientists, engineers, and researchers is a goal too. The consortium has made a $ 25 million corporative agreement with NNSA.

UCF is one of 16 universities to join the $25M national consortium on nuclear forensics, backed by the U.S. Department of Energy. MAE professor Subith Vasu is one of two faculty members leading the charge for the university. https://t.co/hxkeqOwXWG @UCFCECS

— UCF Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (@UCFMAE) March 20, 2023

The association is led by the University of Florida which has 7 national laboratories including Sandia, Los Alamos, Lawrence Berkeley, and Oak Ridge.

International students interested in the consortium can take admitted to UCF, They can be a part of the research, and avail of the internship opportunity with NNSA. After graduation, they can also work at the NNA.

Role of Universities

Keith McManus is the university program manager for defence nuclear nonproliferation research and development at NNSA. According to him, the role of universities is to innovate and create the most challenging and basic aspects of new technology and methods.

Research Questions

UCF faculty members Professor SubithVasu (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) and Assistant Professor Vasileios Anagnostopoulos (Department of Chemistry) will work with researchers from different universities to address the challenges and gaps of nuclear forensics research. 

The team will also address topics like determining what materials were used in a nuclear weapon after it’s been detonated. 

Such research topics have become relevant due to the Ukraine war and the interest of people to know whether Russia will use nuclear weapons.

Benefits 

Students who are involved in the research can get an internship opportunity. After graduation, they can be employed at the NNSA labs. It will be an incredible opportunity to work at the national laboratory.

UCF is the only university from the Consortium to have a dedicated nuclear forensics degree program. As per Vasu, this research initiative can result in the creation of a nuclear forensics program at the university. The university already has the facility to create such a program.

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