*Basic Research for Countering WMD
Abstract
The Basic Research for Countering WMD project as the nation’s only basic research solely dedicated to countering weapons of mass destruction (CWMD), is a core strategic investor in future scientific and technological progress across the full spectrum of Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) CWMD mission areas. This project concentrates on high risk, high-payoff basic research, leveraging world class expertise in academia, government, and industry to increase the foundational body of scientific knowledge supporting DTRA’s Applied Research and Advanced Technology Development projects. This Initiative aligns with DTRA’s strategic objectives that directly support policy and planning guidance from the Office of the President, the Department of Defense, and the broader WMD threat reduction community. The portfolio addresses this guidance through capability enhancements, projects, and Science and Technology (S&T) investments that support CWMD and reduce global nuclear dangers. Specifically, they include: accelerating the development of standoff radiological/nuclear detection capabilities; researching countermeasures and defenses to non-traditional agents; enhancing nuclear forensics; securing vulnerable materials; developing new verification technologies; developing an in-depth understanding of the capabilities, values, intent, and decision making of potential adversaries, whether they are states, networks, or individuals; defeating WMD agents; researching biologically-based and inspired materials for Department of Defense (DoD) applications; and leveraging science, technology, and innovation through domestic and international partnerships and agreements. This project solicits, coordinates, and conducts basic research aligned to five Thrust Areas. Each Thrust Area Manager coordinates an independently reviewed portfolio of research projects selected for scientific merit, technical quality, and the potential for innovation. Thrust Area 1: Science of WMD Sensing and Recognition. This thrust area explores novel methodologies to investigate physical properties of sensitive materials as they interact with phenomena associated with WMD, such as ionizing radiation. This research provides the basis for developing capabilities to discover the presence, identity, and quantity of material or energy in the environment that may be significant, in turn providing the means to develop advanced forensic applications that enable detection, characterization, and attribution, particularly in post-detonation radiative environments. Thrust Area 2: Network Sciences. This thrust area explores analytical, numerical, computational and other mathematical approaches to model and simulate the behavior of layered, interdependent physical networks affected by WMD. This interdisciplinary, theoretical research provides the basis for developing advanced algorithms and analytical frameworks that accurately predict and depict WMD environments by characterizing impacts and vulnerabilities, representing root causes of cascading failures, and assessing robustness, resilience, restoration, and recovery in varying degrees of disruption. Thrust Area 3: Science for Protection. This thrust area employs experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches to explore and understand the causal mechanisms and deleterious characteristics of ionizing radiation and the tolerance, response, and resistance characteristics of affected sensitive electronic systems and microorganisms. This research provides the basis for engineering resilient systems and technologies, offering radical improvements to the survivability and performance of mission-critical electronic equipment and personnel in hostile radiative environments. Thrust Area 4: Science to Defeat WMD. Through experimentation and computational modeling and simulation, this thrust area investigates phenomena associated with penetration physics, shock propagation and turbulence dynamics, and researches novel energetic and reactive materials for defeat of targets containing WMD. This research provides the scientific foundation necessary to develop advanced solutions for: (1) accessing WMD in hardened and deeply buried infrastructure, (2) defeating (non-nuclear) targets with minimal unintended collateral effects, and (3) predicting post-detonation (non-nuclear) weapon effects. Thrust Area 5: Science to Secure WMD. This thrust area leverages a wide range of scientific and mathematical disciplines to explore phenomena related to physical, biological and chemical interactions with radioactive particles and waveforms. This research provides the technical basis for development of innovative, unconventional applications to improve security oversight and control of WMD materials and facilities and to improve monitoring and surveillance systems related to arms control and nonproliferation. The increase from FY 2015 to FY 2016 maintains the investment in basic research to keep pace with inflation. The decrease from FY 2016 to FY 2017 balances near term operational needs with future technical developments and capabilities. Reductions to the RDT&E portfolio impacted investment in efforts with lower return on investment, lower customer demand, or that were early in the development cycle.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2017
- Source ID
- RU_0601000BR_1_0400_PB_2017
Entities
Organizations
- Toronto Metropolitan University
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