3/30/2009 Colloquium - Vincent Tang

Vincent Tang Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Event Info

Title:  Fusion Neutron Sources for Energy and National Security Applications

Date: Mar 30, 2009
Location: 3105 Etcheverry Hall
Time: 4-5pm

Abstract

Plasma and accelerator based fusion neutron sources can be the unique enabler for a large variety of applications ranging from burn-up of unwanted actinides, cancer therapy, to remote detection and radiography. Selected developments and uses of these plasma and accelerator based sources are discussed in this talk. In regards to Energy, the possible role of fusion-fission hybrids in the nuclear fuel cycle is reviewed and illustrated with specific scenarios utilizing the ITER base design as the fusion source. Concerning Detection applications, the remote identification of hidden explosives using both isotropic and directional neutron sources are discussed, along with enabling accelerator research at LLNL towards an ultra-portable “neutron flare” and a compact megavolt class ion accelerator.

This work was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under contract 1026419, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, and Cooperative Grant DEFC02-99ER54512 with the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Speaker Biography

Dr. Vincent Tang is a staff scientist in the National Security Engineering Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He received his PhD in Applied Plasma Physics from MIT in 2006, MS in Nuclear Engineering from MIT in 2002, and dual BS degrees in Nuclear and Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2000. His primary research interests concern next generation compact plasma and accelerator based neutron sources, energetic particle physics in tokamak and z-pinch fusion plasmas, and applications of neutron sources to problems in Energy and National Security.