ASSURING A FUTURE U.S.-BASED

Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise

Committee on Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear Chemistry Expertise

Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology

Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board

Division on Earth and Life Studies

Board on Higher Education and Workforce

Division on Policy and Global Affairs

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
                      OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS   500 Fifth Street, NW   Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under contract number DE-PI0000010, Task Order #18/DE-DT0002224; the National Science Foundation under grant number CHE-1049500; and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Nuclear Physics, and Office of Nuclear Energy, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Center under award number DE-PI0000010, Task Order# 12/DE-DT0001917.

The report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represent that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number 13: 978-0-309-22534-2
International Standard Book Number 10: 0-309-22534-5

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council

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COMMITTEE ON ASSURING A FUTURE U.S.-BASED NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY EXPERTISE

Members

C. BRADLEY MOORE (Chair), University of California, Berkeley

CAROLYN J. ANDERSON, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

TRISH BAISDEN, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA

CAROL J. BURNS, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico

RONALD A. CHRZANOWSKI, Exelon Nuclear, Warrenville, Illinois

SUE B. CLARK, Washington State University, Pullman

RICHARD B. FREEMAN, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

HOWARD L. HALL, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

LESTER R. MORSS, University of Maryland, Columbia

GRAHAM PEASLEE, Hope College, Holland, Michigan

GEORGINE M. PION, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

HENRY VANBROCKLIN, University of California, San Francisco, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley

JOHN F. WACKER, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

National Research Council Staff

Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology

DOROTHY ZOLANDZ, Director,

TINA M. MASCIANGIOLI, Responsible Staff Officer

AMANDA CLINE, Administrative Assistant

ANGELA OLSON, Christine Mirzayan S&T Policy Fellow (January-April 2011)

SHEENA SIDDIQUI, Associate Program Officer

RACHEL YANCEY, Senior Program Assistant

Other Boards

GAIL GREENFIELD, Senior Program Officer, Board on Higher Education and Workforce

MIRSADA KARALIC-LONCAREVIC, Senior Program Associate, Division on Earth and Life Studies Executive Office

HEIDI MURRAY-SMITH, Program Officer, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology

KAMWETI MUTU, Research Associate, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources

JAMES VOYTUCK, Senior Program Officer, Board on Higher Education and Workforce (retired)

BOARD ON CHEMICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

Members

PABLO DEBENEDETTI(Co-chair), Princeton University, New Jersey

C. DALE POULTER(Co-chair), University of Utah, Salt Lake City

ZHENAN BAO, Stanford University, California

ROBERT BERGMAN, University of California, Berkeley

HENRY BRYNDZA, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Delaware

EMILY CARTER, Princeton University, New Jersey

MARY JANE HAGENSON, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, LLC, The Woodlands, Texas

CAROL J. HENRY, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

JILL HRUBY, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

CHARLES E. KOLB, Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts

JOSEF MICHL, University of Colorado, Boulder

MARK A. RATNER, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

ROBERT E. ROBERTS, Institute for Defense Analyses, Washington, D.C.

DARLENE J. S. SOLOMON, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Santa Clara, California

ERIK J. SORENSEN, Princeton University, New Jersey

JEAN TOM, Bristol-Myers Squibb, West Windsor, New Jersey

WILLIAM C. TROGLER, University of California, San Diego

DAVID WALT, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts

National Research Council Staff

DOROTHY ZOLANDZ, Director

AMANDA CLINE, Administrative Assistant

DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN, Program Officer

KATHRYN HUGHES, Program Officer

TINA M. MASCIANGIOLI, Senior Program Officer

SHEENA SIDDIQUI, Associate Program Officer

RACHEL YANCEY, Senior Program Assistant

NUCLEAR RADIATION STUDIES BOARD

Members

JAY C. DAVIS(Chair), Hertz Foundation, Livermore, California

BARBARA J. MCNEIL(Vice Chair), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

JOONHONG AHN, University of California, Berkeley

JOHN S. APPLEGATE, Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington

MICHAEL L. CORRADINI, University of Wisconsin-Madison

PATRICIA J. CULLIGAN, Columbia University, New York, New York

ROBERT C. DYNES, University of California, San Diego

JOE GRAY, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland

DAVID G. HOEL, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston

HEDVIG HRICAK, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York

THOMAS H. ISAACS, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California

ANNIE B. KERSTING, Glenn T. Seaborg Institute, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California

MARTHA S. LINET, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

FRED A. METTLER, JR., New Mexico VA Health Care System, Albuquerque

BORIS F. MYASOEDOV, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

RICHARD VETTER, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (Retired)

RAYMOND G. WYMER, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (Retired)

National Research Council Staff

KEVIN CROWLEY, Senior Board Director

SARAH CASE, Senior Program Officer

JENNIFER HEIMBERG, Senior Program Officer

OURANIA KOSTI, Program Officer

TONI GREENLEAF, Financial and Administrative Associate

LAURA LLANOS, Financial and Administrative Associate

SHAUNTEE WHETSTONE, Senior Program Assistant

ERIN WINGO, Senior Program Assistant

BOARD ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE

Members

WILLIAM E. KIRWAN (Chair), University System of Maryland, Adelphi

F. KING ALEXANDER, California State University, Long Beach

SUSAN K. AVERY, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

CARLOS CASTILLO-CHAVEZ, Arizona State University, Tempe

JEAN-LOU CHAMEAU, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

RITA COLWELL, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland

PETER EWELL, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, Boulder, Colorado

SYLVIA HURTADO, University of California, Los Angeles

WILLIAM KELLEY, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia

EARL LEWIS, Emory University, Druid Hills, Georgia

PAULA STEPHAN, Georgia State University, Atlanta

National Research Council Staff

PETER H. HENDERSON, Director

GAIL GREENFIELD, Senior Program Officer

SABRINA E. HALL, Program Associate

Preface

The critical U.S. need for nuclear and radiochemistry expertise in areas such as nuclear medicine, nuclear power, nuclear security, and radioactive waste clean-up and disposal, combined with a past decline in the number of students graduating in this field drove the request for this comprehensive examination of the current and anticipated supply and demand for expertise, including types and levels of skills, in the United States for medicine, energy, defense, and environment.

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Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Burt Barnow, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Bruce Bursten, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Jonathan R. D. Earnhart, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Wilmington, North Carolina

Charles Folden, Texas A&M, College Station

Graham Kalton, Westat, Inc., Rockville, Maryland

Annie Kersting, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California

Robert Latiff, R. Latiff Associates, Alexandria, Virginia

Paul Mantica, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Michael Phelps, University of California, Los Angeles

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Edward B. Perrin, University of Washington, Seattle, and Charles P. Casey, University

of Wisconsin, Madison. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Contents

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Acronyms