PNNL

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) electrical engineer Rey Suarez was the keynote speaker at the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization’s Specialized Technical Meeting on Preventive and Predicative Maintenance of the International Monitoring System (IMS).

He presented on the “Evaluation of Predictive Maintenance Techniques for Radionuclide Systems of the IMS.” The paper was co-written by PNNL researchers Malachi Schram, Eric Church, and Jan Drgona. The meeting had approximately 145 participants from around the world and focused on sustainment and ways to maintain the complex network of sensors throughout the globe.

“PNNL’s expertise in radionuclide system development for nuclear explosion monitoring, coupled with our expertise in data science, puts us in a unique position to help guide sustainability efforts of the IMS,” said Suarez. “The topic of predictive maintenance relative to the IMS continues to emerge and currently PNNL is playing an important role in this effort.”

“The detection of signs of nuclear explosions being performed by rogue nations is especially important in today’s world,” said Ted Bowyer, Lab Fellow. “PNNL has been a leader in technology for nuclear explosion detection for over two decades, and Rey’s work is state-of-the-art in a critical area. Not only has he significantly affected the way the U.S. looks at the reliability of complex systems used to detect nuclear explosions, his work has had profound international impact.”

The specialized technical meeting provided a platform to present measures and tools that will lead to enhanced monitoring and sustainment of the IMS on a number of items, including highlighting the cutting-edge developments in state-of-health monitoring and tools for station operators, in particular on notification and predictive analysis and potential sustainability enhancements for the IMS station network in the areas of equipment standardization, best practices of operation, documentation, and training. The Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization also made an appearance during the conference to further highlight the importance of operation and maintenance of the IMS.