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The AWE staff receive their certificates at the MoD headquarters in London
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‘Model of how to conduct international collaboration’

By Linda Fort
August 17, 2010

Staff at the atomic weapons factory in Aldermaston have won a major Ministry of Defence award for a project working with non-nuclear power Norway.

The Arms Control Verification Research team at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) has won a Ministry of Defence Chief Scientific Adviser Commendation Award.

The accolade is for the part AWE has played in an international collaboration with Norway on the science of verifying warhead dismantlement.

The project team undertook an exercise in June 2009 which looked at how a non-nuclear weapon state could verify the dismantlement of a device belonging to a nuclear power, without divulging sensitive information and compromising national security.

AWE leads on the technical work of this collaboration on behalf of the MoD, working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Energy and Climate Change and Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC).

AWE project leader Dr David Chambers recently co-presented the results of this exercise at the United Nations to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference on behalf of the UK.

Graeme Nicholson, AWE’s director for science and technology, said: “The initiative with Norway is the first time a nuclear weapon state has worked with a non-nuclear weapon state and this has placed both countries at the forefront of nuclear disarmament issues.

“This work clearly fits the company’s commitment and values and will continue to evolve in partnership with our customers.”

The presentation was made to members of the AWE team by the MoD’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Mark Welland, at a special ceremony held recently at MoD headquarters in London.

The work has generated international interest, with a recent article in the journal Nature referring to it as ‘a model of how to conduct international collaboration in this field’ which identified the UK and AWE as world scientific leaders.

lfort@reading-epost.co.uk

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