ACT/SGER: A Portable Spectrometer for Nuclear Forensics

Wake Forest University, Winston Salem NC

Investigators

Abstract

Professor Bradley Jones of Wake Forest University and Professor Clifton Calloway of Winthrop College are working to develop a novel, low-cost, portable instrument for the simultaneous determination of trace radioactive elements in nuclear forensic samples. At issue is the routine, inexpensive sampling for radioactivity that could be released on transport or storage of potential "dirty bomb" material. The device will employ a deuterium lamp as a light source, a tungsten coil as the atomizer and an echelle spectrometer with a built-in charge-coupled device as the detector. The package is expected to provide analytical figures comparable to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), but the instrument is much lower cost and more portable. The specific objectives of the project include determination of the analytical figures of merit for elements including cobalt, cesium, and strontium, and analysis of real samples such as soil, urban dust, water and agricultural materials. Several graduate students along with undergraduates from Winthrop College will be involved in the design and testing of the instrument. Leeman Labs Inc will collaborate for prototype development. This award is supported jointly by the NSF and the Intelligence Community. The Approaches to Combat Terrorism Program in the Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences supports new concepts in basic research and workforce development with the potential to contribute to national security.