February SDRD Highlight: Two Diagnostics Are Better than One!

In his fiscal year (FY) 2024 Site-Directed Research and Development project, “Data Fusion: Reconstructing 3D Hydrodynamic Scenes Utilizing Both Radiography and Momentum Diagnostics,” principal investigator (PI) Jordan Pillow is undertaking the exciting venture of combining two diagnostics that, until now, have never been used together in the realm of subcritical experimentation.

Jordan and his team are setting out to determine the feasibility of combining radiography, the tried-and-true analytical mainstay of stockpile science for decades, with the Asay Window, a momentum diagnostic, to create clearer, more accurate 3D reconstructions of subcritical experiments (SCEs) and produce better estimates of important measurements. According to Jordan, “Radiography will provide insights that the Asay window won’t, and the Asay window will provide insights that radiography won’t. The end goal of this project is to have the analysis of one inform the analysis of the other. We want the best of both worlds and a more complete picture of the SCE.”

Jordan is excited to undertake this research for his first SDRD project, which is a part of the Radiographic Systems Imaging and Analysis Science and Technology Thrust Area (STTA; for more information about the Radiographic Systems Imaging and Analysis STTA and the FY24 SDRD projects in this area, contact STTA Lead Stuart Baker at BakerSA@nv.doe.gov). In addition to his enthusiasm as a first-time PI, he is also excited about the training opportunity this project offers to his team. According to Jordan, the project gives the team a chance to cross-train between the Asay window and radiography.

“I’m the lead radiography analyst at PULSE, and I usually don’t have anything to do with optical diagnostics (PDV and BLR),” Jordan explained. “And analysts for optical diagnostics typically don’t have anything to do with radiography.”

Until now!

Good luck to you and your team, Jordan!