Dr. Avneet Sood
Los Alamos National Laboratory
CNEC Distinguished Technical Lecture

Abstract

A single point in time, the successful test of Trinity at 0530 on 16 July 1945 near Alamorgordo, NM, brought about significant developments in “everything nuclear” – from technical developments like the first super computers and radiation transport, but also in the responsibilities associated with it. This talk will cover two aspects relevant to nuclear engineers that developed from this historic moment: (1) the development of super-computing and the Monte Carlo method, and (2) a brief history of nuclear safeguards and non proliferation.

The Monte Carlo method for radiation particle transport has its origins at LANL dating back to the 1940’s. The creators of these methods were Drs. Stanislaw Ulam, John von Neumann, Robert Richtmyer, and Nicholas Metropolis. Monte Carlo methods for particle transport have been driving computational developments since the beginning of modern computers; this continues today. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, these new methods were organized into a series of special-purpose Monte Carlo codes, including MCS, MCN, MCP, and MCG. These codes were able to transport neutrons and photons for specialized LANL applications. In 1977, these separate codes were combined to create the first generalized Monte Carlo radiation particle transport code, MCNP. In 1983, MCNP3 was released for public distribution to the Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (RSICC). The upcoming release of MCNP (version 6.2) is expected in June 2017. Approximately 20,000 copies of MCNP have been distributed to users in government institutions, academia, and private industries worldwide.

Nuclear nonproliferation and safeguards started during the arms race with the Soviet Union with Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” speech to the UN General Assembly in 1953. The formation of the IAEA followed in 29 July 1957 with the goal of facilitating peaceful uses of nuclear energy. A number of agreements facilitating the non-proliferation of materials, information and weapons have followed. We will discuss a few of these cases with a review of some safeguard techniques used in these fields. projects focused on radiation detection and measurement, nuclear non-proliferation, warhead and treaty verification, nuclear emergency response, nuclear counter-terrorism, and counter proliferation.

Biography

Avneet Sood, PhD. XCP-3 Monte Carlo Methods, Codes, and Applications – Group Leader, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM. PhD. Nuclear Engineering N.C. State Univ. (2000). Currently, Dr. Sood is responsible for approximately 40 technical staff involved with Monte Carlo radiation transport methods and code development (including MCNP) and applications in nuclear criticality safety, passive and active radiation detection and measurement, nuclear threat evaluation and response, and nuclear experiment design and assessment. Dr. Sood joined the nuclear weapons program at LANL in 2000 and has worked in this area and global security since then. His technical contributions and leadership roles includes MCNP code development (physics and feature improvements, code modernization, verification, validation) and several projects focused on radiation detection and measurement, nuclear non-proliferation, warhead and treaty verification, nuclear emergency response, nuclear counter-terrorism, and counter proliferation. Dr. Sood’s previous academic contributions include adjunct faculty at four universities as co-advisor for seven PhD. students and four post-doctoral students at LANL.