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Newsletter:  September 2002/ Issue 3
PNNL Undertakes NA-20 Nonproliferation Graduate Program

This spring, PNNL was asked to assume the management for the NA-20 Nonproliferation Graduate Internship Program for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). PNNL began this year’s activities by providing a twelve-day orientation and training in Richland, Washington for the Class of 2002. The program, sponsored by the NNSA, is a full-time internship designed to offer practical experience to students interested in exploring a career in international security and nonproliferation. Candidates must be first- or second-year graduate students in Economics, International Affairs, Political Science, International Business, Science, Engineering and/or a combination of International Affairs and Science, or Engineering. They may choose between domestic placement in Washington, DC, or placement in Russia, Ukraine or Kazakhstan.

The orientation/training agenda at PNNL’s Richland campus included an introduction to the Lab’s Energy, Fundamental Science, Environmental Science and Technology, and National Security Divisions with special focus on the latter. An overview was provided of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Laboratory System, Russian weapons complex, Nuclear Cities Program, and Initiative for Proliferation Prevention program. Also, introductory lectures were given on various topics such as the technical requirements for the production of nuclear explosives, international border security, and the role of nongovernmental organizations in global nonproliferation. Activities included tours of the Richland B-Reactor, Plutonium Finishing Plant and Applied Process Engineering Laboratory.

After orientation, students traveled to Washington, DC to prepare for their DC and overseas assignments. Domestic practicum entails a fourteen-month placement at the Department of Energy’s NNSA Headquarters in Washington, DC, or with other US agencies that participate in daily support of NNSA’s nonproliferation efforts. Overseas practicum entails a fifteen-month foreign placement in Russia, Ukraine or Kazakhstan, and requires fluency in either Russian or Ukrainian. Overseas interns spend the last month at NNSA headquarters in Washington, DC before completing the program.

The internship program is designed to promote awareness and interest in nonproliferation careers within DOE and its national laboratories; provide participants with practical training and experience in nonproliferation; and help NNSA to achieve its nonproliferation mission by expanding its recruiting base and priming individuals for future employment.