CONTACTSG. T. Seaborg Institute for Transactinium Science
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Organizations and ProgramsThe Institute is a “virtual center” in nearly every sense. There is no “building” and no “funding portfolio” per se. The Institute facilitates the formation of research teams for the laboratory and the nation, and helps them get organized in order to target specific funding sources. Once the programs have been brought into the Laboratory, they “belong” to the line organizations and not the Institute. We feel this model is more effective in keeping the focus on the science, rather than on the Institute, and keeping the Institute from becoming a research arm of any one division. The Institute maintains administrative offices at TA-50, ARTIC (http://nmt.lanl.gov/artic/) and maintains an office and labs for visiting faculty at TA-48. Education ProgramsKnowledge of actinide science continues to be essential to the US and central to the mission of the DOE, including national defense, energy, environmental restoration, and radioactive waste management. Of grave concern is that the field is becoming subcritical at a time when its core competence is crucial for our nation’s industrial, environmental, and scientific survival. The objective of the Seaborg Institute Education program is to recapture the seminal philosophy of teaching critical skills to both visiting students and our existing technical workforce through workshops, short courses, and accredited university courses. This program (i) serves as a resource for replenishing essential skills in nuclear science, (ii) serves as a resource for preserving and passing on essential corporate knowledge in nuclear sciences, (iii) provides a vehicle for early recruitment of the next generation of nuclear scientists and engineers, and (iv) offer accredited courses which can expedite a student’s graduation, and offer career development. Twelve-week summer research fellowships (link to http://pearl1.lanl.gov/seaborg/default.htm) are offered that combine coursework and an independent research project. At the conclusion of the fellowship, students acquire a greater appreciation of the diverse role of actinide materials in nuclear energy, national defense, and legacy cleanup. Basic Science ProgramsThe Institute serves as a catalyst to promote and strengthen basic research in transactinium science throughout Los Alamos and the U.S. A wide variety of both internal and external activities are included in this effort. The Institute maintains an active seminar program of internal and external speakers, and hosts visiting scholars, post-doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students for short and long-term visits. In an effort to help expand the number of degree-granting institutions with actinide science programs, the Institute has sponsored three assistant professors for Presidential Early Career Awards in Science and Engineering (PECASE Award). The Institute coordinates workshops and working groups on current topics in actinide science in collaboration with major Laboratory programs. Institute staff work to develop a coordinated effort to target and create cooperative basic research programs in actinide science throughout the Laboratory. This includes working with group, division, and senior Laboratory managers to establish a long-term scientific and technical vision and direction for Los Alamos actinide science.
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