ABOUT

Mission

The Ionizing Radiation with Matter University Research Alliance (IIRM-URA) aims to identify, adapt, and develop revolutionary scientific breakthroughs to reduce, eliminate, or counter nuclear and radiological threats. Comprised of 12 universities and 10 institutions, national laboratories, and industry partners, the collaboration will research relevant physics, device and system designs, and modelling approaches to understanding, identify, and control ionizing interactions of radiation with materials.


Goals

The IIRM-URA has identified the following specific goals to pursue:

  • Investigate interaction of ionizing radiation with matter in order to identify advanced material systems, devices and integration, and survivability response to detect or defeat weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
  • Assist in training the next generation workforce and student pipeline against WMD.
  • Advance fundamental knowledge of materials interactions with ionizing radiation.
  • Promote interdisciplinary research and solutions in support of WMD threat reduction.
  • Facilitate implementation and research transition that enables new capabilities for the warfighter to maintain a competitive advantage.
  • Perform transformative research focused on understanding interactions of ionizing radiation with cross-cutting modeling and simulation.

Leadership

The IIRM-URA is led by the Technical Management Group (TMG), which is responsible for the management and integration of the alliance’s efforts, including programmatic, technical, reporting, financial, and administrative matters.

IIRM-URA Program Manager
Douglas Wolfe, Penn State

IIRM-URA Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Cooperative Agreement Manager
CAPT. Rafael Mata, DTRA

Research Area #1: Materials
Lead: Ju Li, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Technical point of contact: Calvin Shipbaugh, DTRA

Research Area #2: Devices and Integration
Lead: Mark Hammig, University of Michigan
Technical point of contact: David Petersen, DTRA

Research Area #3: Survivability and Response
Lead: Stephen Pearton, University of Florida
Technical point of contact: Jacob Calkins, DTRA

Cross-Cutting Research Initiatives
Lead: Michael Tonks, University of Florida

Workforce Development

Coordinator: Susan Zingaro, Penn State