• FOOD SECURITYBiosecurity for Food Security

    By Saba Sinai and Andrew Henderson

    Biosecurity is a fundamental enabler for a country’s’ food security, a critical but often overlooked element of national security, and it is time for it to be treated accordingly.

  • IRAN’S NUKESWe Need a New Discussion About Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Work

    By David Albright and Sarah Burkhard

    U.S. intelligence is shielding the Biden-Harris administration from having to take serious action on Iran’s nuclear program. While hinting at nuclear weapon activities taking place, the U.S. intelligence community is focusing on public Iranian statements and old news on Iran’s capabilities to produce weapon-grade uranium — but it avoids any type of public discussion on what nuclear weaponization activities Iran may be undertaking, and how soon it can build a nuclear weapon. Likely, because some uncomfortable truths would come out: Iran can do it way too quickly, and initial activities to build the bomb could be difficult to detect.

  • NUCLEAR SAFETYNo Power, No Operator, No Problem: Simulating Nuclear Reactors to Explore Next-Generation Nuclear Safety Systems

    To create safe and efficient nuclear reactors, designers and regulators need reliable data consistent with real-world observation. Data generated at the facility validates computational models and guides the design of nuclear reactors.

  • EARTHUAKE DETECTIONMeet the Company Using AI to Detect Earthquakes Faster

    By Zachy Hennessey

    With earthquakes recently in California and Russia, and a megaquake alert for Japan, SeismicAI’s platform can shave vital seconds off the time it takes to send alerts out.

  • EXPLOSIVES DETECTIONSniff Test for Explosives Detection Extends Its Reach

    By Tom Rickey

    Scientists have developed a way to detect tiny amounts of hard-to-detect explosives more than eight feet away, reducing the need to swipe clothing, luggage or other materials. The nNew method detects dangerous materials with lower vapor pressure.

  • CHEMICAL WEAPONSRussia Spreads Disinformation to Cover Up Its Use of Chemical Weapons in Ukraine

    The United States determined Russia used the chemical weapon chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops and riot control agents (RCA) as a method of warfare in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

  • NUCLEAR FORENSICSUranium Science Researchers Investigate Feasibility of Intentional Nuclear Forensics

    Despite strong regulations and robust international safeguards, authorities routinely interdict nuclear materials outside of regulatory control. Researchers are exploring a new method that would give authorities the ability to analyze intercepted nuclear material and determine where it originated.

  • NUCLEAR WASTEHow Do You Convince Someone to Live Next to a Nuclear Waste Site?

    By Austyn Gaffney

    The world’s first permanent depository for nuclear fuel waste opens later this year on Olkiluoto, a sparsely populated and lushly forested island in the Baltic Sea three hours north of Helsinki.  Engineers know how to build a site that can safeguard nuclear waste for 100,000 years. The challenge is convincing people to live next to it.

  • NUCLEAR PROLIFERATIONNonproliferation Researcher Is Retracing Reactor Steps

    Nuclear materials can produce vast amounts of energy. This unique attribute can be harnessed through reactors to provide a reliable, low-carbon electricity source. It can also be used to make weapons.

  • NUCLEAR SAFETYHardy Transistor Material Could Be Game-Changer for Nuclear Reactor Safety Monitoring

    The safety and efficiency of a large, complex nuclear reactor can be enhanced by hardware as simple as a tiny sensor that monitors a cooling system. That’s why researchers are working to make those basic sensors more accurate by pairing them with electronics that can withstand the intense radiation inside a reactor.

  • NUCLEAR WASTEHow Do You Convince Someone to Live Next to a Nuclear Waste Site?

    By Austyn Gaffney

    Engineers know how to build a site that can safeguard nuclear waste for 100,000 years. The challenge is convincing people to live next to it.

  • NUCLEAR WEAPONS‘Risks of Nuclear Terrorism Are High and Growing.’ New Tools, Alliances, Renewed Focus Needed, experts recommend

    By Cyrus Moulton

    For roughly 80 years, the United States has managed the threat of nuclear terrorism through nonproliferation treaties, agency programs, intelligence activities, international monitoring support and more, withstanding the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union, and 9/11. A National Academies committee wants to ensure the U.S. remains prepared.

  • NUCLEAR WEAPONSIran Can Now Produce Enough Fissile Material for 5 Nuclear Bombs within 30 Days of Decision to Do So

    By David Albright

    Iran notified the IAEA recently that over the next 3-4 weeks it would install eight cascades each containing 174 IR-6 centrifuges, about 1,400 in total, at the underground Fordow Enrichment Plant. The installation of eight more IR-6 cascades represents a dramatic increase in Fordow’s total enrichment capacity, meaning that by the end of the first month from a decision to “go nuclear,” Iran could produce a total of 145 kg of WGU, enough for five nuclear weapons.

  • WMD PREPAREDNESSEvaluating U.S. Readiness to Prevent, Counter, and Respond to WMD

    Two new reports review the adequacy of U.S. strategies to prevent, counter, and respond to the threat of nuclear and chemical terrorism and highlight the strengths and limitations of U.S. efforts to prevent and counter threats from weapons of mass destruction (WMD), particularly in a changing terrorism threat landscape.

  • IRAN’S NUKESAnalysis of the IAEA’s Iran NPT Safeguards Report - May 2024

    By David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, and Andrea Stricker

    For the second time in its quarterly safeguards reports on Iran’s compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has drawn attention Iran’s current ability to make nuclear weapons. Without strong and decisive action y the IAEA, Iranwill succeed in steadily augmenting its nuclear program penalty-free, enabling it to build a nuclear weapon more quickly than Western powers could detect and stop.