The National Technical Nuclear Forensics Center (NTNFC) was established on October 1, 2006, within the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
NTNFC was tasked with two core missions:
to provide national-level integration, centralized
credit:
planning, and stewardship for the National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) community; and to lead the U. S. Government (USG) in establishing a robust and enduring pre-detonation radiological/nuclear materials forensics capability.
A top priority of DNDO/NTNFC’s stewardship mission is to lead USG efforts in addressing the enduring challenge of sustaining a preeminent Nuclear Forensics (NF) workforce.
The National Nuclear Forensics Expertise Development Program (NNFEDP) works to build a nuclear forensics workforce of recognized technical experts and leaders through fostering scholastic and research collaboration between and among academia, the national and defense laboratories, and the National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) Interagency.
The implementation of the NNFEDP supports the Department of Homeland Security’s ongoing priority to prevent “Nuclear Terrorism Using an Improvised Nuclear Device” as outlined in the 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review and fulfills the requirements outlined in the Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act (Pub.
L.
No.
111-140) signed by President Obama on February 16, 201 0. In order to accomplish this mandate, the following initiative has been implemented:
The Nuclear Forensics Research Award (NFRA) supports the establishment of a team of faculty, students, and technical staff at the national or defense laboratories to conduct research in the field of nuclear forensics.