{"id":134338,"date":"2023-03-20T14:12:58","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T18:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=134338"},"modified":"2025-06-20T09:36:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:36:58","slug":"ucf-joins-25m-national-consortium-on-nuclear-forensics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-joins-25m-national-consortium-on-nuclear-forensics\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Joins $25M National Consortium on Nuclear Forensics"},"content":{"rendered":"
166su is one of 16 universities in the U.S. that have formed a consortium on nuclear forensics. The association is supported by a $25 million cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy\u2019s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).<\/p>\n
The goal of the consortium is to engage in research that supports the NNSA\u2019s nuclear security and nonproliferation missions while building a next-generation workforce of nuclear scientists, engineers and researchers. The University of Florida leads the group, which is also comprised of seven national laboratories including Sandia, Los Alamos, Lawrence Berkeley and Oak Ridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe role of universities for nuclear forensics research is to innovate and develop some of the most challenging and fundamental aspects of new technology and methods,\u201d says Keith McManus, the university program manager for defense nuclear nonproliferation research and development at NNSA, in a release. \u201cOnce these basic aspects have been proven at the university level, the Department of Energy\u2019s national laboratories can fulfill their unique role to perform mission-specific research and development that improves on capabilities for adoption by operational enterprises.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the first NNSA consortium that 166su has joined. Two faculty members \u2014 Professor Subith Vasu of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering<\/a> and Assistant Professor Vasileios Anagnostopoulos of the Department of Chemistry<\/a> \u2014 lead the charge for the university. They will work with researchers from other universities in the consortium, including Notre Dame, Clemson and Texas A&M, to address gaps and challenges within different aspects of nuclear forensics research.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a member of the consortium, we\u2019ll be conducting research on different aspects of nuclear forensics,\u201d Vasu says. \u201cFor example, when you have a nuclear detonation, how do the fireballs interact with the materials and what residuals does it leave?\u201d<\/p>\n Other questions the team will seek to answer include how to determine what materials were used in a nuclear weapon after it\u2019s been detonated, and how to detect a nuclear weapon or materials that may have been smuggled into the country. Vasu says this type of research has renewed relevance due to the war in Ukraine and public interest in whether or not Russia would resort to the use of nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n A separate challenge the NNSA aims to address is the dwindling nuclear forensics workforce. Vasu says that many researchers in this area started their careers in the 1960s and 1970s and are now headed into retirement. Through the consortium, the NNSA can build a pipeline of young professionals who have experience in nuclear forensics.<\/p>\n \u201cStudents will do research, have internship opportunities, and when they graduate, they can be employed by the NNSA labs,\u201d Vasu says. \u201cIt builds a pipeline for these labs and it\u2019s also very prestigious for students to go work at a national laboratory.\u201d<\/p>\n For 166su, being included in the consortium is an impressive feat. Out of the 16 universities, UCF is one of the few without a dedicated nuclear forensics degree program or department. Vasu says this speaks to the strength of 166su\u2019s reputation for research.<\/p>\n \u201c166su has been working in this area for several years now, with research in aerospace, computer science and chemistry that can support our future work in nuclear forensics,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s possible that this work could lead to a nuclear forensics program at 166su since we already have the base to create it.\u201d<\/p>\n