The smuggling of nuclear material and weaponry for the purpose of malicious or terrorist activity offers a legitimate threat to the National Security of all countries, including that of the United States. One possible method of smuggling these items undetected into the United States is hidden in Intermodal Cargo Containers, which are the format used to transport goods on cargo ships overseas as well as on trucks and trains over landmasses.

The detonation of a nuclear bomb at a United States port could cause billions of dollars worth of damage as well as risk human lives and cause widespread panic. Though congressional mandates have attempted to address these concerns, there are severe practical problems that forestall the process.

Illinois Tech’s IPRO group 497-209, “Developing a New Strategy to Detect Smuggled Nuclear Material” attempts to address this problem from a practical, ethical, legal, and scientific standpoint, and tries to devise news ways of scanning cargo containers that will optimize the process by making it more efficient, safe, and useful towards that goal.

This survey seeks to gauge the prior knowledge about, reactions from, and levels of concern towards the subject matter of the general public (centralized in the Illinois Tech population) to ensure that all angles are addressed and to gauge how best to present the findings of their project to maximize understanding.

The survey can be found here.

It is three pages, should take no longer than two or three minutes, and would help the progress of the project immensely. We will be collecting responses until Thursday, November 12.

Your time is appreciated, and if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, you can reach the IPRO team by emailing rwaswil@hawk.iit.edu.