ARI-SA: A Portable Tungsten Coil Atomic Emission Detector for Nuclear Forensics

Wake Forest University, Winston Salem NC

Investigators

Abstract

0736214 Jones The project will develop a portable device designed specifically designed for the detection of radiological species. The specific objectives of this project include: (1) design and assembly of a portable tungsten coil atomic emission instrument that may be carried in one hand; (2) characterization of the system for the fast simultaneous determination of the nuclear forensic elements of interest; and (3) development of specific methods for the analysis of nuclear forensic samples in the field. Typical sample types will include dust, soil, water and crops. The project will involve Ph.D. students from Wake Forest University, M.S. students from Western Carolina University, under-represented undergraduate researchers from Winthrop University, and a world-renowned expert from an institution in a third world country: the Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil. The successfully developed tungsten coil spectrometer will be marketed by a capable and successful instrument manufacturer, Teledyne Leeman Labs (NH).