AAMU Scientists
Aiming for Better Nuclear Detection
Huntsville, Ala. ---- Alabama A&M University
researchers are using book sense, conceptual modeling and innovation
to come up with improvements aimed at better nuclear detection for
homeland security uses.
 Just over a year ago, Dr. Stephen Egarievwe received a
$360,000 grant from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Now, working in partnership with Dr. Ralph James and other
scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Egarievwe has been
able to extend his research through a joint $2 million, five-year
grant from the National Science Foundation and the Department of
Homeland Security.
A major component of the AAMU scientist’s research is
the development of an advanced nuclear detection device that does
away with the commonly current need for an accompanying cooling
apparatus. Existing detection devices are used in maritime and port
security, border security, transportation security and domestic
nuclear security, says Egarievwe.
However, if the AAMU researchers can come up with a
way to eliminate or minimize the cooling compartment, without
compromising performance, then doors of possibility may open for
the production better handheld devices.
Egarievwe hopes to achieve his goal through improved
cadmium manganese telluride (CMT) and cadmium zinc telluride (CZT)
nuclear detectors, using a combination of theory, modeling and
novel experimental techniques to increase their resolution and
directional sensitivity.
Additionally, the project pulls together a team comprising junior
faculty members and students. It both broadens their credentials
and engages them in the process of earning graduate degrees in
areas critical to cutting-edge nuclear and radiological detection
technologies. Already, two undergraduates co-authored scientific
papers in an international journal for nuclear science.
Moreover, the integration of research into education
and workforce development by Dr. Egarievwe has provided hand-on
training and scholarship opportunities for students across the
disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) at AAMU and other minority serving institutions.
Dr. Egarievwe is the national secretary of INCREASE
(The Interdisciplinary Consortium for Research and Educational Access
in Science and Engineering), an organization that promote research
in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other
minority-serving institutions (MSIs), involving utilization of
national user facilities. He is also the Chair of Engineering,
Construction Management and Industrial Technology, Alabama A&M
University.
For additional information on the research project,
contact Dr. Egarievwe at (256) 372-8952.
by Jerome Saintjones
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