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COSAM Today
Auburn University College of Sciences and Mathematics Newsletter - October 26, 2015
COSAM Today Top Story

Nobel Peace Prize winner and COSAM alumnus to speak on “International Atomic Energy Agency and Nuclear Non-Proliferation”

COSAM alumnus and Nobel Peace Prize winner John Oakberg, mathematics ’69, will give a presentation on Tuesday, Oct. 27, titled, “The International Atomic Energy Agency and Nuclear Non-Proliferation – With a Personal Perspective on Current Events Related to Iran.” The lecture is open to the public and will take place on campus in 115 Sciences Center Classrooms Building at 3:30 p.m. Prior to the lecture, refreshments will be served beginning at 3:15 p.m.

Oakberg was part of a team of scientists at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna to receive the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. The award was presented for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest way possible. 

He began his career at Union Carbide Corporation’s Nuclear Division in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and in 1976 he accepted a position at the International Atomic Energy Agency as a systems expert developing nuclear material accounting software. He stayed at IAEA for one year. He then worked from 1978-1982 in software development and had special safeguards project responsibilities at the U.S. national safeguards level. 

In 1982 he began working for the International Atomic Energy Agency again, where he retired in 2007 as a senior information analyst in the Division of Safeguards Information Management. His primary responsibilities were in the areas of correlating and analyzing state-supplied information related to information analysis in strengthening international safeguards, and in providing expertise on nuclear material accounting and reporting with respect to the relevant provisions of safeguards agreements.

In addition to an undergraduate degree from Auburn, Oakberg received a master of science in computer science from the University of Tennessee, and, last spring, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Auburn University.

Although technically retired, Oakberg continues to work as a senior nuclear safeguards consultant, providing expertise and technical consulting services in the area of international nuclear safeguards for the IAEA and for the U.S. Government on a wide variety of subject areas including nuclear material accountancy and reporting, additional protocol declarations, personnel training, information management, and documentation.

For more information, contact Candis Birchfield at ceh0012@auburn.edu.

 


Auburn University Museum of Natural History to host "A Nightmare on Mell Street"

The Auburn University Museum of Natural History will host a spine-chilling open house, “A Nightmare on Mell Street,” on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., prior to kickoff of the Auburn vs. Ole Miss football game. Step inside the museum, if you dare, and witness the hair-raising collection of curiosities, including more than 2 million carefully preserved dead specimens from around the world. Featured will be representatives from the Alabama Natural Heritage Program who will highlight the slithering eastern indigo snake and an ongoing project to reintroduce the snake to the wild in south Alabama. The first 200 children to enter the museum will receive a Halloween goody bag. Please check the website for updates at auburn.edu/cosam/mnh. The Museum of Natural History is located in the Biodiversity Learning Center on the Auburn University campus between Rouse Life Sciences Building and M. White Smith Hall. Visitors can access the museum from Mell Street.

Davis Arboretum to hold native plant sale

The Davis Arboretum and the Environmental Awareness Organization are holding a native plant sale, which includes approximately 175 varieties of trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and herbaceous perennials. Order forms and a 50 percent deposit are due by Tuesday, October 27, by noon. The remainder of the cost is due upon pick up, which will take place at the Davis Arboretum on Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Be aware that your final total may change based on plant availability. Payments must be made by cash or check only, and checks should be made out to the Environmental Awareness Organization, which is a student group dedicated to environmental awareness and sustainability. Order forms and deposits should be turned in at the Arboretum Pavilion or emailed to Dee Smith at drs0001@auburn.edu. Please note that all plants are delivered “sight unseen,” and the arboretum will not accept purchase refusals. For more information, please contact Dee Smith at drs0001@auburn.edu or 334.332.0430.


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