FEBRUARY  2013 · Vol 3, Issue 1  

 

Since August, we have met once a month in the 1911 Building to discuss key energy and security issues over luncheon.  The format has proved to be quite useful, with one or sometimes two speakers starting off the session with a twenty minute presentation and then the remainder of the time dedicated to discussion. The events have enabled us to highlight the work of a variety of different scholars working in the energy field and led to some interesting new insights into the security ramifications of different technologies.  Each talk has brought a new set of faces to the table and raised interesting challenges.  In August, William Kinsella (NCSU-Communications) addressed nuclear power, In September Greg Parsons, (NCSU-Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) introduced us to nano-energy, and in November, Chris Galik (Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions) and Marc Bellemare, (Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy) spoke of some of the environmental and security challenges associated with the development of biofuels. In October, the conversation took a rather different turn as Alex Roland (Duke - History) spoke of the epistemological differences between scientists and engineers, sociologists and historians, and in January we drew on a Duke alum, Thomas Lehrman, who recently directed the Office of WMD counterterrorism to speak of the role of private enterprise in dealing with this problem. Last week, at our February luncheon, Chris Frey (NCSU- Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering) helped the group better understand how one can measure emissions from transportation fuels.  The series will continue through the rest of the semester, with a talk in March by retired diplomat Stephen Kelly who will discuss the security implications of the exploitation of Canadian oil sands (EVENT PAGE AND REGISTRATION LINK) and a final talk (Speaker and Topic TBD on the third Monday in April). We hope that you will join us. 

. 

 On 14th October,  Wayne Lee, Joe Caddell, and Carolyn Pumphrey accompanied a small group of students from Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and NCSU to Oak Ridge National Laboratory to attend a nuclear security workhop. We are, as we were the year before, deeply indebted to our hosts at the Lab most notably Alan Icenhour, Director of Global Nuclear Security Technology Division and Jim Sumner, Director of Global Initiatives Directorate who went out of their way to provide our students with informative lectures and tours and to Dawn Eipeldauer who worked tirelessly to organize the event and made sure we had a good photographic record.

The morning and part of the afternoon was filled with lectures introducing us to the work of the lab, to nuclear threats, and nuclear nonproliferation programs. In the afternoon we were taken to visit the historic graphite reactor which first went critical at 5 AM on 4 November 1943, the portal monitor lab, where we were shown a wide array of sophisticated equipment designed to detect threatening materials imported into the country, and the safeguards lab. It was for all of us an eye-opening glimpse into the significance of this issue.

Elections for the Executive Board of the Triangle Area INMM Student Chapter were held this fall. Alex Okowita was re-elected President of the chapter, and new members have filled the positions of Vice-President (Sean Smith), Secretary (Kalene Hanson), and Treasurer (Kelsey Reamer). At an early meeting, our chapter drew up plans for speakers and discussed how to generate income We have designed tee-shirts and plan to sell these as well as organizing a fundraising night at a restaurant.

Thus far over the course of AY 2012-13 we have held seven general body meetings. We have

invited a number of speakers to talk to the group, the latest being Dr. Steven Wyrick from Savannah River National Labs. He spoke to the club about Mass Spectrometry Capabilities for National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Applications.

This coming year we will focus on integrating political science members and nuclear engineering members. A goal of the chapter is to increase the scientific literacy in non-engineering disciplines, and to help bridge the communication gap that currently exists between policy makers and engineers. One way we plan to accomplish this is to set up a workshop that focuses on nuclear energy, and offer it in such a way as to attract many different disciplines. Another way is through our partnership with the TISS/NCSU Energy and Security Initiative. A number of our members, for example, attended the talk by Alex Roland on the epistemological differences between engineers and social scientists.

We will use funds raised by the sale of tee-shirts to visit Savannah River National Laboratory. We are also planning to host a "think tank" of political science minds on the topic of nuclear energy and how to approach it in a timid world. We also plan on having an end of the year banquet, partnered with a local chapter of the American Nuclear Society.

Alex Okowita

President Triangle Area Chapter INMM

Email: amokowit@ncsu.edu

One of the most complex and interesting challenge facing us is how to simultaneously meet our water and our energy needs and how to do so without compromising our security. TISS /ESI invites you to join us on March 21st in the McKimmon Center for an afternoon keynote and panel discussion, "Water, Energy, and Security: Colliding Imperatives."  We can promise an excellent discussion, that will range from the macro to the local.  Speakers will be noted author Steven Solomon, journalists Thomas Lippman (Middle East Institute) and Keith Schneider (Circle of Blue) Paul Faeth (Center for Naval Analyses), and NCSU engineer, David Schlobohm.  We hope that the discussion will heighten public awareness of these very important issues, spark creative thinking, and pave the way for focused research.

Our partners in this effort are the Water Resources Research Institute, the Research Triangle Energy Consortium, and NCSU's College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.  

This event is free of charge and open to the public, but RSVP is required.  The seminar  is held  by the TISS/NCSU Energy and Security Initiative in conjunction with the Water Resources Research Institute Annual Conference and will also include full conference participants. Agendas and additional details about each program can be found at the links below.

To RSVP for the Progress Energy Seminar, please go to: Colliding  Imperatives

To register for the full WRRI conference, which includes the seminar, please go to:   WRRI Water Conference