Careers
The Nonproliferation Graduate Program (NGP) is a full-time graduate program for students interested in exploring a career in nuclear nonproliferation. The program is sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and is administered by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The mission of the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) is to detect, prevent, and reverse the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, while mitigating the risks from nuclear operations.
In support of this mission, NGP fellows are assigned to a specific DNN program office. Working with select supervisors and mentors, NGP fellows assist with programs that involve:
Conducting cutting-edge nonproliferation and national security research and development;
securing nuclear materials, nuclear weapons, and radiological materials at potentially vulnerable sites in Russia and elsewhere;
reducing the quantities of nuclear and radiological materials;
bolstering border security overseas;
downsizing the nuclear weapons
infrastructure of the former Soviet Union;
and
mitigating risks at nuclear
facilities worldwide.
Nonproliferation Graduate Program Objectives:
-
Promote awareness of careers in nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and U.S. national laboratories
-
Provide participants with specialized training and valuable practical experience in the field of nonproliferation
-
Aid NNSA in achieving its mission
-
Develop a talent pool that can assist NNSA with its international security and nonproliferation programs
This program is a perfect complement to my academic career because it adds invaluable practical and professional experience on policy formation (from concept to implementation), U.S. foreign policy, and international relations to my academic work. Further, my academic experiences have prepared me to try to apply theoretical models of international relations and nonproliferation to real-world situations, with varied results.
—Pritham Khalsa, NGP graduate
NGP fellows visit B Reactor – one of nine decommissioned nuclear reactors on the Hanford Site along the Columbia River in Washington state. Plutonium produced by this reactor was used in the world's first nuclear explosion in the New Mexico desert and in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki in World War II.
The reactor is preserved as a National Historic Landmark.