The research traineeship for nuclear forensics (rtnf) couples graduate and undergraduate education with nuclear forensics research in the area relevant to the technical priorities of the nfra under…

The Board of Regents of Nevada System of Higher Education, doing business as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, received a $1,395,000 cooperative agreement award from the Department of Homeland Security to support the National Nuclear Forensics Expertise Development Program. Funded from May 1, 2023 through April 30, 2026, the award will couple graduate and undergraduate education with nuclear forensics research relevant to technical priorities under the National Technical Nuclear Forensics program. Specifically, UNLV will combine targeted radionuclide dissolution from debris with rapid microfluidic separations to produce quality signatures for post-detonation analysis within 24 hours of an event. Experienced UNLV faculty will partner with researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to jointly mentor students in radioanalytical techniques and innovative research advancing rapid signature analysis capabilities. The overarching goal is to educate student scientists in nuclear forensics while solving technical challenges for the DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office.

The research traineeship for nuclear forensics (rtnf) couples graduate and undergraduate education with nuclear forensics research in the area relevant to the technical priorities of the nfra under TMA 3. Post-detonation material collection and analysis methods. The research will combine targeted dissolution of radionuclides from debris with rapid microfluidic separations to produce samples with quality signatures within 24 hours of a post-detonation event. Experienced faculty from the university of nevada, LAS vegas radiochemistry program have partnered with experts from the nuclear and radiochemistry group at llnl to jointly mentor students in radiochemistry who will perform innovative research relevant to the advancement of nuclear forensics capabilities. The overarching goal of the program is to educate ambitious and diverse student-scientists in the area of nuclear forensics while solving technical challenges faced by DHS in the countering weapons of mass destruction (cwmd) office arena. Within cwmd, the national technical nuclear forensics center (ntnf) has a mission to guarantee a broad and active nuclear forensics capability. This mission includes development of the appropriate nuclear forensic expertise for the united states. This project address both this objectives by developing the next generation of nuclear forensic scientists and advancing rapid signature analysis.