Investigation of Data Fusion for Nuclear Threat Assessment, 20-R9723
Printer Friendly VersionPrincipal Investigators
Olufemi Osidele
Thomas Glass
David Turner
Robert Rogers
Deborah Waiting
Inclusive Dates: 07/01/07 – Current
Background - A 2002 National Research Council report (Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism, National Research Council, 2002) indicates current threats to the national security of the United States would come from enemies who employ terrorism and nonconventional methods to inflict catastrophic damage on the nation's people, infrastructure, and economy. Moreover, the exponential growth of available data on vulnerabilities and potential threats to national security has made it increasingly difficult to identify plausible threats in a timely manner. Analyzing such information from large multiple sources is a daunting prospect when time is critical to threat detection, risk assessment, and emergency management. An area of particular concern in domestic security is the management chain responsible for nuclear materials generation, transportation, and storage.
Approach - The objective of this project is to investigate a prototype analysis system for detecting potential threats to a nuclear materials management chain and assessing potential human and environment impacts. In addition, the project aims to explore a broader utility for the analysis system as a platform for demonstrations to SwRI clients and, ultimately, as an adaptive tool for communicating risk to stakeholders for various industries. The research approach investigates data resources, develops and applies a Java-based platform for numerical experiments and analysis, and integrates geographical information systems for visualization of threats.
Accomplishments - Basic design of the prototype analysis system was completed, and implementation of the experimentation platform has begun. Preliminary investigations identified a region of interest in the southeastern United States for data collection and development of threat scenarios related to nuclear materials management.
