Interrogation of Special Nuclear Material Using the Illinois Pulsed Neutron Facility

Strategic Research Initiatives

Brent J. Heuser, Ling-Jian Meng: Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering

Matthias Grosse Perdekamp: Physics

Addressing the Problem

Nuclear security has become very important both domestically and internationally. The ability to monitor port-of-entry, to track fissile material across international borders, to properly safeguard the nation’s nuclear weapon stockpile, and to develop nuclear counterterrorism measures all require innovative technology and technical expertise in special nuclear material (SNM) detection.

Research Goals

The initiative is a collaboration between three faculty members with contrasting expertise spanning nuclear materials and neutron transport simulation, radiological imaging, and particle physics, and leverages existing equipment—the Pulsed Neutron Facility and specialized gamma-ray detectors at Illinois—to perform research related to the interrogation of SNM and neutron science.