Events at Physics |
Events on Friday, October 10th, 2008
- Physics Department Colloquium
- Nuclear Forensics: Preparing for the Experiment One Hopes Never to Do
- Time: 4:00 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall (coffee at 3:30 pm)
- Speaker: Dr. Jay Davis, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Retired) and The Hertz Foundation
- Abstract: Applying the tools of nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry to determine the origin of nuclear materials is a matter of growing concern, investment and practice in the current environment. The Government asserts that the unexpected detonation of a nuclear weapon on US soil is the largest threat facing the United States at present. Nuclear forensics techniques contribute to the increased safety of weapons useable materials, the discouragement of trafficking in them to deny them to would-be bomb makers, and, after a detonation, to the possible identification of sources and perpetrators.
Jay Davis, who established the national program in post detonation forensics while Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at DoD from 1998 to 2001, will describe the, technical, operational and policy challenges of the program to create an effective, rapid, and credible forensics capability. He had on-the-job training in nuclear forensics as an UNSCOM inspector in Iraq after the first Gulf War.
- Host: Coppersmith