THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT INNOVATIVE SOLUTION COMBUSTION SYNTHESIS (SCS) METHODS FOR PREPARING HIGHLY RADIOACTIVE PLUTONIUM (PU) AND AMERICIUM (AM) TARGETS, WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL FOR NUCLEAR SCIENCE MEASUREMENTS. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT THE SELF-GENERATED HEAT DURING RAPID SCS CAN PRODUCE ROBUST RADIOACTIVE TARGETS MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN TRADITIONAL METHODS. TO ADDRESS TECHNICAL CHALLENGES SUCH AS THE COMPLEXITIES AND STABILITIES OF PU AND AM OXIDES AT THE NANOSCALE AND THE SCARCITY OF ISOTOPICALLY PURE PU AND AM, EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED USING SURROGATE MATERIALS, COMPLEMENTED BY MOLECULAR DYNAMICS (MD) SIMULATIONS AND MACHINE LEARNING (ML) METHODS. THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES INCLUDE INVESTIGATING HIGH-THROUGHPUT SCS REACTIONS OF SURROGATE AND ACTINIDE OXIDES, CONDUCTING ATOMISTIC SIMULATIONS TO UNDERSTAND SCS MECHANISMS, AND USING ML TO OPTIMIZE SYNTHESIS CONDITIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT AIMS TO PREPARE AND CHARACTERIZE THIN FILM TARGETS AND EDUCATE A STUDENT BODY TO STRENGTHEN THE WORKFORCE PIPELINE TO NATIONAL LABORATORIES. THIS PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTATION AND FACILITIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME TO ACHIEVE ITS GOALS.