The G. Robert Keepin Nonproliferation Science Summer Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has provided decades of leadership in nonproliferation. Fifty years of end-to-end international safeguards support to the International Atomic Energy Agency has included developing technology, training inspectors, and providing experts. Much of the laboratory’s legacy in this area was built on the shoulders of giants like G. Robert Keepin, the first pioneer of physics-based safeguards. Keepin believed that the United States should take a lead in nonproliferation and that Los Alamos was the right place to grow safeguards science and technology because of its unique mission, technical expertise, and facilities necessary for the required research and development (R&D). In 2017, LANL established the G. Robert Keepin Nonproliferation Science Summer Program, honoring this champion of international safeguards. The program was jointly established with the University of California at Berkeley-led Nuclear Science and Security Consortium with the goal of exposing students to the broader nuclear nonproliferation mission that is underpinned by advances in R&D. During the program’s inaugural summer, a cadre of 21 undergraduate and graduate students from 14 top-tier universities were provided an opportunity to spend an entire summer learning about how game-changing science, engineering, and technology are applied to reduce the dynamic threats of nuclear proliferation. The students spent a majority of their time performing research on real-world projects with a Los Alamos mentor. The program was designed such that the research experience was complemented by weekly activities that aimed to provide broad exposure to the nonproliferation mission space through lectures, hands-on training, and technical tours. Proximity to Sandia National Laboratory afforded the students an opportunity to spend two days exploring the facilities unique to Sandia. With excellent reviews from both the LANL mentors and students at the conclusion of the 2017 summer, the program was hailed as a tremendous success and a useful model for continued efforts to strengthen the national security workforce pipeline. A majority of students stated that they plan to continue working in careers supporting the nonproliferation mission, and most of them intend to do so at Los Alamos.