Partnerships for Innovation
ORAU Partners with Y-12 and Georgia Tech to Organize Workshop Focused on Nuclear Security Enterprise Issues
Shown are participants in the round-table workshop titled “Transforming the Nuclear Security Enterprise to Address 21st Century Security Threats—A Collaborative Approach” held recently at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Click image to enlarge.
An invitation-only workshop organized by the Y-12 National Security Complex and ORAU engaged nuclear security enterprise subject-matter experts in discussions critical to national security recently at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The workshop was hosted by Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, and the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.
A report outlining the recommendations for follow-on collaborative initiatives will be prepared and presented to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Headquarters.
The workshop, titled Transforming the Nuclear Security Enterprise to Address 21st Century Security Threats, addressed these key objectives:
- the transformation of the Nuclear Security Enterprise and its implications
- understanding the nuclear threats to better inform the nation’s response
- exchanging views on approaches to dealing with the nuclear proliferation threat using technical, policy and diplomatic tools
- identifying areas for future work.
The workshop was organized around four topical panels:
- Understanding National Security Threats
- Challenges and Opportunities as the NWC [Nuclear Weapons Complex] Transitions to a Nuclear Security Enterprise
- Strategic Nuclear Downsizing and New Requirements for Strategic Stability in a Smaller Nuclear Security Enterprise
- Maximizing National Security Threat Response through Collaboration
The workshop brought together representatives from the NNSA, the U.S. Department of Energy the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Stanford University, the University of Maryland, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan and Georgia Tech, including a number of graduate students from the Georgia Tech Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Click image to enlarge.
The keynote speaker was Carol Dumaine, deputy director, Energy and Environmental Security within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.
Gerald DeVault, a researcher at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and Cathy Fore, ORAU director, Collaborative Initiatives, were moderators for the workshop.
“The nuclear threat may be the greatest threat our country faces,” DeVault said. “It not only has the potential to affect our way of life, but also our continued existence. Since the end of the Cold War, the nuclear threat has become very dynamic and not easily understood. To effectively address the threat, a strong collaborative approach between NNSA, other government agencies, universities and industry is necessary. No single laboratory, company or organization has all of the solutions. All of us must work together to secure our future.”
“This workshop represented a unique opportunity to discuss issues critical to our nation,” Fore said. “The workshop also serves as a great example of how ORAU engages the expertise of its member schools in addressing strategic global challenges.”
John Nemeth, ORAU vice president, University Partnerships, and Adam Stulberg of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the Center for International Strategy, Technology and Policy (CISTP), were facilitators for the discussion concerning the recommended next steps.