This is my first submission to the Communicator since being elected Vice President of the INMM. Let me introduce myself to those who don’t know me. I have been working at Brookhaven National Laboratory for 35 years. I started in the Structural Analysis Division of the Department of Nuclear Energy, where I performed finite element analysis of safety related structures (mostly nuclear containments) and contributed to the preparation of safety analysis reports for new nuclear fuel cycle facilities. In 1993 I responded to a opening for a task monitor in the International Safeguards Project Office. I worked with ISPO until 2010, when I was selected to become the Deputy Chair of the Department of Nonproliferation and National Security. In 2015, I became the Chair of that Department. I consider my main area of expertise to be in international safeguards, but in recent years I have gained some experience in related fields.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve the INMM as Vice President because the INMM has done so much for me in my career.
I’ve been a member of the INMM since 1993 – 25 years – and the INMM has provided me
with role models, networking opportunities, and opportunities to development my leadership skills. The Annual Meeting has been a forum to meet with colleagues from national laboratories, government agencies, and other countries. The Annual Meeting is a place where I can share information and get feedback from a diverse audience. As compared to larger professional organizations, the INMM is like a family where we can all be appreciated as individuals.
Speaking of the Annual Meeting, my main responsibility as Vice President is oversight of the
planning and execution of the Annual Meeting. The INMM’s Annual Meeting is the only meeting where nuclear materials management professionals convene to discuss the research, technology, and policy issues of our day. I hope that you are preparing an abstract for submission by the deadline of January 25, 2019. If you are looking for inspiration, please consult the call for proposals, which lists relevant subject areas.
In addition to submitting an abstract, there are several other ways you can contribute to the Annual Meeting.
Consider volunteering to be a member of the Technical Program Committee (TPC).
The TPC meets once a year to organize the abstracts into sessions for the Annual Meeting. For the 2019 Annual Meeting, the TPC will meet on March 5, 2019, in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.
Some Annual Meeting sessions come together as a result of independently submitted abstracts, but others are planned and result from invited papers. As a member of the TPC, you can help organize the abstracts into sessions and become involved in planning sessions and invite experts to deliver papers in an area or areas of interest to you.
To become a member of the TPC, contact the TPC Chair, Teressa McKinney.
Help is also needed on the Exhibits Committee.
This committee recruits vendors to participate in the Annual Meeting Exhibits, a trade show conducted in parallel with the technical sessions.
The Exhibits Committee ensures that the exhibitors reflect the broad diversity of technical areas served by the INMM.
Help us find new vendors who can inform us and benefit from presenting their products and discussing mutual interests with Annual Meeting attendees.
Most importantly, attend the Annual Meeting! Your attendance at the Annual Meeting supports the INMM by ensuring that our community’s work is distributed widely. In return, you will participate in opening and closing plenaries, be invited to the President’s Reception where you’ll have the opportunity to renew acquaintances and friendships and network with industry experts, and have access to 30+ technical sessions, to the conference proceedings, to the exhibits, and to ad hoc meeting rooms where you can conduct meetings with colleagues and collaborators.
The Annual Meeting provides opportunities to get involved at multiple levels. I encourage you to select the level that you are able to support and to get involved!
- Susan Pepper, INMM Vice President
