BYLINE: Kristen Mally Dean
Newswise — A global network of subject matter experts, including scientists at Argonne National Laboratory, work together to safeguard nuclear, chemical and biological materials, equipment and technology
Nonproliferation is a cornerstone of global security that requires collaboration across scientific disciplines and international borders. A worldwide community of subject matter experts, including scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, work together to safeguard nuclear, chemical and biological materials, equipment and technology. These efforts make the world a safer place.
At DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, nonproliferation experts provide deep expertise in unique focus areas to help government officials, policy makers and private industry achieve nonproliferation objectives.
For instance, Argonne has spent decades helping countries and institutions convert nuclear research reactors so that they are more secure and less vulnerable to misuse. Through the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors program, the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has converted more than 70 research reactors from high enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium; more than 30 other HEU-fueled reactors have been confirmed as shut down.
“People need to understand that extensive efforts are being made to ensure nuclear safety and security.” — Bei Ye, Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne experts provide the technical expertise and analysis needed to inform and address critical chemical, biological and nuclear nonproliferation policy challenges and questions. This is essential for the development of methods, tools and processes that aim to prevent the use of materials, equipment and technology for nonpeaceful purposes.
Prime examples include supporting U.S. efforts to work with like-minded countries and multilateral regimes to advance nonproliferation goals. For example, Argonne’s experts advise the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which focuses on nuclear nonproliferation, and the Australia Group, which focuses on chemical and biological nonproliferation.
The sensitive nature of nonproliferation requires nuanced communication skills and advanced analysis of cutting-edge science and technology. Scientists from Argonne accept this challenge. In doing so, they help make the world more secure.
Amanda Owen, chemist
Amanda Owen isn’t the only NCIS fan who felt inspired to pursue a career in science after watching the show’s Goth-leaning character Abby Sciuto use forensic science to fight crime. But Owen might be one whose job is more intriguing.
As a chemist specializing in nonproliferation, Owen focuses on advising policymakers and implementing policy tools that can help prevent the spread of chemicals, equipment and technology for nonpeaceful purposes.
“If you can prevent the spread of harmful things, then you’re less likely to need to address the consequence, right?” she said. “I apply my chemical expertise to advise on how we can prevent certain things from being easily and readily accessible to people who would misuse them.”
“Policy tools, such as export controls on materials, equipment and technology, must be updated as technology evolves,” she explained. “I stay on top of emerging trends so I can advise about new challenges to export controls.”
In addition to her work in nonproliferation export controls, Owens provides her chemistry expertise to discussions about the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international treaty seeking to permanently and verifiably eliminate chemical weapons.
“It is highly satisfying to know chemistry can make such a positive impact on global security,” said Owen.
Nicole Kikendall, principal biologist
Nicole Kikendall, principal biologist in Argonne’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) group, initially thought she would be a doctor. That was the seemingly obvious path for a student interested in biology. But a variety of opportunities gradually opened her eyes to the exciting path of biodefense, where her subject matter expertise is highly valued.
“When you’re a biology student, the only paths you are really exposed to are the medical field or other academic programs,” she reflected. “I had no idea that biodefense could be a career until I was immersed in it.”
At Argonne, Kikendall applies a vast range of experience in industry, academia, government and other laboratory research to provide technical expertise for export controls, government policy and regulation, and emerging technologies and their applications, among other topics. Kikendall engages with partners around the globe as a subject matter expert on topics related to biotechnology and nonproliferation. She is a key technical expert for briefing various departments within the U.S., working with interagency and international partners to strengthen scientific insights critical to formulating nonproliferation measures.
For example, Kikendall’s team at Argonne provides technical support for the Australia Group, the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention — all international organizations dedicated to global security, nonproliferation and arms control. They write technical assessments that inform policy, including the formulation of export controls, and host seminars that increase the U.S. inter-agency’s awareness of proliferation-sensitive items.
Kikendall finds it all fascinating: “My work is always different, always changing, always exciting.”
Bei Ye, section manager of fuel technology assessment in Fuel Development and Qualification
Principal Material Scientist Bei Ye and her colleagues in Argonne’s Fuel Technology Assessment group use computational tools to model the behavior of nuclear fuels in research and test reactors.
Given the large number of potential conditions and scenarios in real-world reactors, as well as the high cost of testing fuel designs, computational modeling plays an important role. It allows Ye and her team to narrow down fuel designs that meet the operational and safety requirements for a particular fuel or research reactor.
More targeted experimental design based on simulation results helps researchers efficiently prioritize fuel designs prior to the expensive step of testing the fuel inside a reactor.
Combining fuel performance modeling and conversion analyses also helps ensure that converted reactors will maintain their performance and utility after switching to the more proliferation-resistant low-enriched uranium option.
“While we study new fuel materials to support conversion activities, we need to preserve the performance of the reactor,” Ye explained. “Otherwise, research reactor operators may not want their reactor converted.”
Ye joined Argonne’s research reactors fuels team in 2011. Her experiences are all focused on the safe and effective use of nuclear technology.
“The idea of misuse can be scary, but we know nuclear technology is wonderful when proper safety and security measures are in place,” Ye said. “People need to understand that extensive efforts are being made to ensure nuclear safety and security.”
Matthew Bucknor, Argonne international nuclear security laboratory lead
Keeping nuclear safety, security and operational efficiency in balance is the challenge faced by Argonne’s Matt Bucknor.
Bucknor supports the goals of the NNSA’s Office of International Nuclear Security as Argonne’s International Nuclear Security Laboratory Lead. He works closely with domestic vendors who plan to export nuclear technologies to help them prepare for and meet security requirements in other countries.
He assists those vendors with security risk assessments as part of a larger Security-by-Design (SeBD) strategy. Implementing SeBD throughout the design process can help vendors reduce overall project costs and reliance on expensive, traditional security methods — such as gates, guards and guns — to keep nuclear material secure.
“The goal of the Office of International Nuclear Security is to prevent theft and sabotage of nuclear materials and facilities worldwide,” Bucknor said. “It was eye opening to see how much knowledge Argonne has from decades of research in nuclear safety that can be leveraged to fill gaps in nuclear security.”
Bucknor began his career at Argonne assessing nuclear safety and performing probabilistic risk assessments of significant events. For example, what was the likelihood that a coolant pump or a pipe would fail, and then what were the most likely consequences of those failures? In his latest work, he applies those answers to study that same problem from a saboteur’s perspective. This helps him and others arrive at designs, methods and tools that can hinder sabotage at nuclear facilities.
“We don’t have to redo entire failure scenarios and consequence analyses because we’ve already assessed them from the safety side,” Bucknor explained. “It’s really rewarding to see Argonne’s decades of experience used in nuclear security to help prevent nuclear terrorism, theft and sabotage around the world.”
Lauren Boldon, group leader, CBRN Nonproliferation Analysis
Varied experiences, including working as a reactor engineering intern at a nuclear power plant, performing a public policy internship in Washington, D.C., and researching small modular reactor sustainability, led Lauren Boldon to pursue her career at the intersection of engineering and public policy.
As group leader of CBRN analysis at Argonne, Boldon concentrates heavily on export controls and related policies. She provides technical and subject matter expertise used to regulate the transfer of critical technology and information to foreign entities. She also performs technical reviews and conducts studies toward the development of new or amended export controls that reflect the evolution of nuclear technology over time. She supports DOE as it engages in various multinational organizations, such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
“A big part of nonproliferation is being able to talk to researchers and communicate their technical work in a way that helps policymakers make informed decisions based on the most up-to-date research,” said Boldon. “It also requires having the technical expertise to provide analysis to the many varied scenarios U.S. agencies encounter.”
Boldon oversees a group of eight researchers with diverse expertise. The group’s collective range of experiences and cross-disciplinary knowledge helps them analyze current and emerging technologies.
For example, they are heavily versed in nuclear reactor technologies and nuclear fuel cycle processes; chemicals, biological materials and their associated equipment; and nonproliferation policy. They analyze the impact of emerging technologies to these spaces, including artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing developments. When necessary, they draw upon other world-class subject matter experts conducting pioneering research throughout Argonne.
Said Boldon: “Our role is to protect technology in a way that ensures its continued use for peaceful purposes.”
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.
