5/4/2009 Colloquium - Brian D. Boyer

Brian D. Boyer Los Alamos National Laboratory

Event Info

Title:  The Rudiments of IAEA Safeguards with a Focus on the Key Safeguards Challenges

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

Abstract

IAEA Safeguards are based on the technical objective of safeguards defined as “the timely detection of diversion of significant quantities of nuclear material from peaceful nuclear activities to the manufacture of nuclear weapons or of other nuclear explosive devices or for purposes unknown, and deterrence of such diversion by the risk of early detection.” Taking this overarching statement of purpose, it can be shown the IAEA’s safeguards policy and technical means should all work to reach this goal. This seminar will show how this is done from both the theoretical and the practical sides from the speaker’s experience as both an IAEA inspector and a research engineer in the DOE complex. To be able to fulfill this goal by safeguarding a state’s declared facilities and material as well as detecting undeclared clandestine material and facilities is the major challenge for the IAEA. The IAEA’s ability to provide assurance to the world that is can fulfill its safeguards mission may be one of the key elements that the nuclear industry needs to show to the world so as to expand the numbers of reactors as well as the number of countries having reactors as foreseen in the “Nuclear Renaissance”.

Speaker Biography

Brian Boyer is employed at Los Alamos National Laboratory as Nonproliferation Team Leader/ Project Leader International Safeguards in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Division, N-4 Group (Safeguards Systems Group) since 2006 and from 2002-2006 was at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He worked for 5 years at the IAEA (1997-2002) including working as a Nuclear Safeguard Inspector in doing inspections in Europe and working as a Nuclear Safeguards Analyst in the Section for System Studies. He worked on and lead a variety of safeguards efforts in the USA in the last 7 years which included creating a safeguards approach with the IAEA for the Chernobyl Shelter, building a course for the IAEA at Brookhaven to train IAEA inspectors in the mechanics of doing complementary access activities for the Additional Protocol, analyzing safeguards for light water reactors, uranium conversion plants, and gas centrifuge enrichment plants for US DOE, and has lectured in various courses, meetings, and seminars on international safeguards. He is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University with B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. nuclear engineering degrees.