Ten percent of the U.S. experts in nuclear and radiochemistry are at or nearing retirement age, according to a recent report from the National Academies of Science. Meanwhile, not enough students are being trained to take their places.

Two University of Missouri scientists are doing their part this summer to get young people interested in a career in nuclear science. They are being aided by two grants worth about $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to oversee summer school programs that encourage undergraduates to consider entering nuclear science fields.

A university of Missouri release reports that Justin Walensky, MU assistant professor of chemistry, is leading the Nuclear Forensic Summer School, which opens today (11 June) and ends 20 July. David Robertson, director of research at the MU Research Reactor and a professor of chemistry, is leading the Nuclear Chemistry Summer School at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, which begins 20 June and ends 22 July.

Robertson said the nuclear science field has led to developments in technology to diagnose heart disease and certain cancers that use a radioisotope called technetium-99m. “The nation needs more of these individuals to develop ways to make these isotopes safely and efficiently and develop new drugs for finding and treating diseases,” he said.

Students at MU’s nuclear summer school will receive hands-on training in topics involving nuclear forensics, including radiation detection and environmental radiochemistry — in other words, an overview of what to do after a nuclear accident.

“Our main goal in nuclear forensics is to track and contain the material,” Walensky said. “Students in the summer school will be learning laboratory techniques that allow us to measure and identify radioactive material.”

The release notes that the summer schools are competitive. The Nuclear Forensics School accepted only 10 students from 60 applications while the Nuclear Chemistry School accepted only 24 students from more than 120 applications.

Robertson said the growth of nuclear electrical power plants in the United States requires young scientists knowledgeable in the nuclear field. “We need to make sure we have the people in the career pipeline,” Robertson said. “These schools are one answer to that challenge.”

written by Biodefense-2012

Ten percent of the U.S. experts in nuclear and radiochemistry are at or nearing retirement age, according to a recent report from the National Academies of Science. Meanwhile, not enough students are being trained to take their places.

Two University of Missouri scientists are doing their part this summer to get young people interested in a career in nuclear science. They are being aided by two grants worth about $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to oversee summer school programs that encourage undergraduates to consider entering nuclear science fields.

A university of Missouri release reports that Justin Walensky, MU assistant professor of chemistry, is leading the Nuclear Forensic Summer School, which opens today (11 June) and ends 20 July. David Robertson, director of research at the MU Research Reactor and a professor of chemistry, is leading the Nuclear Chemistry Summer School at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, which begins 20 June and ends 22 July.

Robertson said the nuclear science field has led to developments in technology to diagnose heart disease and certain cancers that use a radioisotope called technetium-99m. “The nation needs more of these individuals to develop ways to make these isotopes safely and efficiently and develop new drugs for finding and treating diseases,” he said.

Students at MU’s nuclear summer school will receive hands-on training in topics involving nuclear forensics, including radiation detection and environmental radiochemistry — in other words, an overview of what to do after a nuclear accident.

“Our main goal in nuclear forensics is to track and contain the material,” Walensky said. “Students in the summer school will be learning laboratory techniques that allow us to measure and identify radioactive material.”

The release notes that the summer schools are competitive. The Nuclear Forensics School accepted only 10 students from 60 applications while the Nuclear Chemistry School accepted only 24 students from more than 120 applications.

Robertson said the growth of nuclear electrical power plants in the United States requires young scientists knowledgeable in the nuclear field. “We need to make sure we have the people in the career pipeline,” Robertson said. “These schools are one answer to that challenge.”

written by Biodefense-2012

PositiveID Corporation yesterday announced it has made significant progress in testing its M-BAND, Microfluidics-based Bioagent Autonomous Networked Detector, in preparation for DHS’s $3 billion BioWatch procurement. The company’s M-BAND system detects five organisms on the CDC Select Agents List, which is a requirement for BioWatch.

M-BAND, developed under contract for DHS, is an early warning system designed to detect the intentional release of aerosolized biological agents. It runs autonomously for up to thirty days between service cycles, continuously analyzing air samples, typically in high-traffic areas, for the detection of bacteria, viruses, and toxins with results in as little as three hours. Results from individual M-BAND instruments are reported via a secure wireless network in real time to give an accurate status for fielded instruments in aggregate. M-BAND can be remotely set to detect for DNA-based pathogens alone, with or without either RNA-based organisms or toxins, or for all three types of pathogens simultaneously at remotely programmable intervals.

In addition to the BioWatch opportunity, the company has submitted or is in the process of submitting bids for other government contract opportunities totaling more than $16 million across six different government agencies for both its M-BAND and Dragonfly Rapid MDx cartridge-based diagnostic system.

William J. Caragol, chairman and CEO of PositiveID, said, “As we prepare for the final request for proposal for BioWatch to be released from DHS, we have continued our internal testing of M-BAND. Our system is fully functional and, we believe, one of the only technologies capable of addressing the requirements of the BioWatch procurement. Furthermore, we believe our system not only performs better than the competition but also has a lower total cost of ownership.”

written by Biodefense-2012