Department of Materials Science & Engineering
A new, multi-university center led by Texas A&M will contribute to the understanding of materials science fundamental to the maintenance of the United States’ nuclear deterrent. Of equal importance, it will also train the next generation of scientists and engineers who will ensure the safety, security and effectiveness of the nuclear weapons stockpile.
“We are honored to be selected as a new National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) center,” says Dr. Michael J. Demkowicz, who serves as director of the Center for Research Excellence on Dynamically Deformed Solids (CREDDS). “In addition to CREDDS’ support of the Nation’s Stockpile Stewardship Mission and training of future scientists, I am excited about the new science that will come out of it.”
CREDDS will provide a variety of outreach activities, including seminars and a summer school planned for the fourth year of the project. In addition, undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral associates affiliated with CREDDS will have the opportunity to visit and spend extended periods of time at the national laboratories involved in stockpile stewardship.
“This is about educating the next generation of scientists and engineers to support stockpile stewardship,” says Dr. Andrew L. Ross, Brent Scowcroft Chair of International Policy Studies in the Department of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M and director of the National Security Affairs Program. “We need to have people who can do this, not just now, but 10, 20 years down the road. Given the strength of our engineering program – top ranked, not just in the country but in the world – it’s the right place to do this kind of work. I’m not surprised that NNSA chose Texas A&M to take the lead.”
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