Issues: Nuclear Energy, Waste & Weapons

Explosive Alliances
Nuclear Weapons Simulation Research at American Universities

This is the full text of the NRDC Nuclear Program's January 1998 report on the Department of Energy's awarding of U.S. nuclear weapons program research contracts to universities. The report includes policy recommendations on this issue.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
I. Introduction: Strategic Computing In The Context Of Evolving Nuclear Weapons Policies
A. Background
B. Stockpile Stewardship and Nuclear Deterrence Strategy
C. The Role of the Academic Strategic Alliances Program Centers
II. Nuclear Weapons And Supercomputers
A. Background
B. The Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI)
C. A Lab-University Symbiosis for Simulation?
III. The Academic Strategic Alliances Program
A. Program Goals and Structure
B. California Institute of Technology
     Background
     The Caltech contribution
C. Stanford University
     Background
     The Stanford University contribution
D. University of Chicago
E. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
F. University of Utah
G. SSM Research Agenda of the Five Alliances Program Centers
IV. Training Future Nuclear Weapons Specialists Under The Academic Strategic Alliances Program
V. Conclusions: Policy Recommendations
VI. List Of Acronyms
Report Credits and Acknowledgments

Tables
Table 1.1: Information on the five DOE Academic Strategic Alliances Program Centers of Excellence
Table 3.1: The three-level structure of the DOE Academic Strategic Alliances Program
Table 3.2: Astrophysical systems to be simulated at the Chicago
Table 3.3: A listing of the U. of Utah C-SAFE research areas and component events of computer-simulated accident scenarios
Table 3.4: The C-SAFE organization by teams
Table 3.5: A listing of the areas of scientific research for the five Academic Strategic Alliances Program university Centers of Excellence

Figures
Figure 1.1: U.S. DOE Nuclear Weapons Activities -- Annual Budget Authority
Figure 3.1: A DOE viewgraph presented at the ASCI Alliances Program Pre-Proposal Conference to 137 members of the academic community from 34 universities
Figure 3.2: A timeline of significant events in the Academic Strategic Alliances Program to date
Figure 3.3: A diagram of Caltech's virtual shock tube, showing detonator, high explosive charge, and test materials
Figure 4.1: Vu-graph shown during Alex Larzelere's presentation to the ASCI Principal Investigators Meeting held at Snowbird, Utah on 14-15 October 1997

For a printed copy of this report, please send $5.00 plus $1.45 shipping and handling to: NRDC, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005, ATTN: Nuclear Publications. California residents must add 7.25% sales tax. International orders add $1.00 to cover airmail postage. Please make checks payable to NRDC in US dollars only.

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