Lab analysis reveals forensic signatures of nuclear material during international smuggling exercise

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists received mock evidence, consisting of two uranium oxide (UO2) fuel pellets, as part of an international nuclear forensic exercise in support of a simulated nuclear smuggling investigation. The exercise was part of the CMX-5 Collaborative Materials Exercise organized by the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working...

Providing data for nuclear detectives

Fans of the popular TV series "CSI" know that the forensics experts who investigate crime scenes are looking for answers to three key questions: "Who did it; how did they do it; and can we stop them from doing it again?"The field of nuclear forensics, an important element of LLNL’s national security mission, has similar goals and uses similar techniques — but with even higher stakes."In...

White captures second award for nuclear forensics work

For the second time, Lab physicist Roger White, a designer in B-Division from the Weapons and Complex Integration (WCI) Directorate, has received an award from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) for his work in post-detonation nuclear forensics.White was named the "top contributor of the quarter" for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2013 (April-June, 2013) for leading a 55-person...

From the stars to nuclear forensics

Using an instrument originally developed to probe the minute amounts of stellar dust found in meteorites, Kim Knight has developed a technique to analyze raw materials to determine the fallout from a nuclear explosion. Called Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry or RIMS, Knight and LLNL colleague Ian Hutcheon, along with collaborators at Argonne National Laboratory and University of...