From August 2 to 6, 2026, CNTR Researchers Luis Pazos Clemens, Robin Tobias Mentel, and Fabian Unruh presented their research on verifying plutonium production, the monitoring of submarine reactors and the monitoring of alternative, future reactor designs at the annual meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INNM). During the conference, Unruh was awarded the J. D. Williams Best Student Paper Award for his research on the use of AI and invertible neural networks in verifying arms control and nuclear disarmament agreements.
Robin Tobias Mentel, member of the Research Group Science for Nuclear Diplomacy, combined his conference participation with visits to other U.S. research institutions:
At MIT, he exchanged ideas with members of the Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy, which is led by R. Scott Kemp. For example, he spoke with Jake Hecla, who has been a professor in the group since 2026 and conducts research on modern compact reactors and their detection.
Mentel also visited the Science and Global Security research group at Princeton University. There, he discussed his work and current developments in science-based peace and conflict research in Germany and the U.S. with Professors Zia Mian and Frank von Hippel and explored opportunities for future collaboration.
On Friday, 25 September, Mentel will hold a presentation titled “Evaluating the feasibility of antineutrino-based safeguards for naval and maritime reactors” in the context of the MIT Global Security Technical Webinar Series. Details on the presentation and participation in the free webinar can be found here.
