David Smith

David Kenneth Smith is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies. His work focuses on technical outreach to address the threat from nuclear and other radioactive material out of regulatory control. He regularly participates in forums and outreach sponsored by the Centre for Science & Security Studies at King's College London, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory USA and AWE - Atomic Weapons Establishment UK. He is a emeritus member of the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group (ITWG) where he served in executive roles for more than two decades.

From 2010 to 2020, David served as the Nuclear Security Coordinator (Forensics) [P5] in the Division of Nuclear Security at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. There, he led the IAEA radiological crime scene response and nuclear forensic science team. From 1987 to 2010, David held various leadership and technical staff positions in nuclear test, nuclear security and international security engagement programmes at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory USA.

He graduated with an AB and departmental honours in geological sciences from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York USA in 1979 and a MSc in geochemistry from the University of California, Riverside, California USA in 1982. In 1986, David was elected to membership in Sigma Xi, the international scientific honour society. He is also a member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Research

• Forensic science in support of nuclear security investigations.
• The incorporation and persistence of radiogenic isotopes, stable isotopes and trace elements as nuclear forensics signatures of the origin and history of nuclear and radioactive materials.
• Field based investigations of the fate and transport of anthropogenic radionuclides in the environment.

Publications

• Case Studies of a Nuclear Forensics Examination, (book chapter), 2023, Smith, D.K., The Oxford Handbook of Nuclear Security, Oxford University Press.
• Establishing a Nuclear Forensic Capability: Application of Analytical Techniques, 2023, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA TECDOC 2019, 78p.
• The Metrics of Success: 25 Years of the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group, 2022, Mayer, K. and D.K. Smith, ITWG Update, No. 24.
• Nuclear Forensics: Beyond the Science - Summary of a Technical Meeting, 2020, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA TECDOC 1896, 51p.
• Development of a National Nuclear Forensics Library: A System for the Identification of Nuclear or Other Radioactive Materials out of Regulatory Control, 2018, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA Non-Serial Publication, 42p.
• The Deterrent Effect of Nuclear Forensics: the Case of Hungary, December 2016, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA Bulletin.
• Proceedings of an International Conference: Advances in Nuclear Forensics: Countering the Evolving Threat of Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material Out of Regulatory Control, 7 – 10 July 2014, 2015, International Atomic Energy Agency, 149p with CD.
• Nuclear Forensics in Support of Investigations, IAEA Nuclear Security Series 2-G, (Rev. 1) Implementing Guide, 2015, International Atomic Energy Agency, 62p.
• Documentation of a Model Action Plan to Deter Illicit Nuclear Trafficking, 2008, Smith, D.K., M.J. Kristo, S. Niemeyer and G.B. Dudder, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, v. 276. no 2., p. 415 - 419.
• Following the Clues: The Role of Forensics in Preventing Nuclear Terrorism, 2007, Niemeyer, S. and D.K. Smith, Arms Control Today, p. 14 - 15.
• The Dynamic Movement of Plutonium in an Underground Nuclear Test with Implications for the Contamination of Groundwater, 2005, Smith, D.K. and R.W. Williams, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, v. 263, no. 2, p. 282 – 285.
• An Inventory of Long-Lived Radionuclides Residual from Underground Nuclear Testing at the Nevada Test Site, 1951 to 1992, 2003, Smith, D.K., D.L. Finnegan and S.M. Bowen, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, v. 67, no. 1, p. 35-51.
• Seismic Source Summary for All U.S. Below-Surface Nuclear Explosions, Springer, D.L., G.A. Pawloski, J.L. Ricca, R.F. Rohrer and D.K. Smith, 2002, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 92, no. 5, p. 1806 – 1840.
• Migration of Plutonium in Groundwater at the Nevada Test Site, 1999, Kersting, A.B., D.W. Efurd, D.L. Finnegan, D.J. Rokop, D.K. Smith and J.L.. Thompson, Nature, v. 397, p. 56–59.