INL Technologies

At the height of the 

Cold War, it is estimated that the former 

Soviet Union employed nearly one million scientists and 

engineers in more than 4,000 

institutions and state-sponsored laboratories. Due to an 

oppressive government, many 

of these technical experts 

were forced to be involved in 

the design, manufacture, and 

production of illicit chemical, biological and nuclear 

weapon systems. 

Today, more than 750,000 

Cold War scientists still live 

and work in the region. Due 

to conditions such as an 

uncertain economy, volatile 

political situations and a 

growing infiltration by terrorist organizations, it has 

become essential to national 

security for the United States 

to play a key role in engaging, 

retraining and redirecting the 

activities of former weapons 

scientists into peaceful and 

productive alternatives. 

The Global Initiatives for 

Proliferation Prevention 

Program (GIPP) is one way 

in which the Department of 

Energy and the United States 

are working toward a more 

secure homeland by redirecting displaced WMD experts 

in Russia, the former Soviet 

Union, Libya, Iraq and other 

regions of proliferation concern, into sustained nonmilitary employment. 

Since 1992, the program has 

helped scientists, engineers and 

researchers from the countries 

of the former Soviet Union convert their knowledge away from 

nuclear, chemical and biological weapons production, and 

into peaceful and commercially 

viable alternative technologies. 

Technologies developed under 

this program include breast cancer identification software and 

land mine detection products. 

In 2005, the program was extended to include the countries 

of Libya and Iraq.

A Beautiful Mind

The Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention Program

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INL Technologies

INL’s Involvement

Idaho National Laboratory 

has participated in the program since its inception. In 

fact, INL’s Dr. Trudy Overlin 

was elected in 2006 to a twoyear term as chairperson of 

the Inter-laboratory Board of 

the Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (GIPP) 

program. In this capacity, 

Overlin serves as a liaison 

between DOE and 12 national 

laboratories and other DOE 

facilities on international nonproliferation projects. 

INL also participates in and 

oversees work in five active GIPP programs which 

range from the development 

of cancer treatment software 

to microbial decontamination techniques and enhanced 

concealed weapons detection 

devices. Additional efforts 

include work in anti-arthritic 

treatments, development of 

bioinsecticide products and 

cancer medicines.

Neutronics Computational Tools 

This project works to combine 

state-of-the-art Monte Carlo 

radiation transport techniques 

and the most comprehensive 

nuclear and atomic databases 

available to construct a highly 

reliable three-dimensional 

neutronics optimization algorithm that can be applied both 

to designing cancer treatment 

facilities that use boron neutron 

capture therapy and to planning 

the treatments of individual 

patients at those facilities.

The emphasis of the research 

will be to develop accurate, 

fast and cost-effective ways 

of modeling how various materials moderate the 

energies of neutrons using 

methods originally developed 

in nuclear weapons design. 

The end result will be a set of 

tools for optimizing the dose 

distribution in the brain of 

the patient who is undergoing 

boron therapy. 

Microbial Decontamination Deployment 

This project involves the 

decontamination of concrete 

surfaces using biological 

microbes which erode the 

contaminated surface. This 

process is both environmentally friendly and a cost-efINL and former Soviet Union 

scientists have developed an 

advanced cancer treatment 

technology that uses three 

dimensional algorithms to 

assist patients in planning 

treatment options.

Scientists from the former 

Soviet Union work on a variety 

of peaceful scientific projects 

as part of the Global Initiatives 

for Proliferation Prevention.

Continued from previous page
INL Technologies

fective alternative to current 

methods used to remove contaminated surfaces. Biological 

decontamination technology has been designed and 

developed to meet the costs 

and challenges of decontaminating and decommissioning 

these facilities. 

Magnetic Induction Tomography Technology 

International 

collaboration 

between INL, 

scientists from 

the former Soviet 

Union and General 

Electric has led to 

the development 

of new magnetic 

sensors that will 

enhance the 

capabilities of the 

INL-developed 

concealed 

weapons 

detector.

Most 

commercial metal 

detectors 

generate false 

positive 

alarms due 

to environmental 

noise factors. False 

alarms are 

further 

increased 

as the detectors range of 

operation is exceeded, such as in 

double-door configurations or stand-off 

operation. In addition, the 

levels of sensitivity required 

for scanning more than one 

person at a time are a difficult 

challenge to overcome.

On the other hand, the INL 

detector uses 16 passive 

magnetic sensors to replicate 

the Earth’s ambient magnetic 

field. As contraband items 

pass through the field, they 

are rapidly detected and their 

location is pinpointed on a 

computer monitor. This immediate identification makes 

it easier for security guards 

to search an individual and 

identify 

and remove 

dangerous items. The detector can precisely locate items 

ranging from razor blades to 

handguns. 

Now, the INL system has been 

enhanced with new, powerful 

sensors developed in Russia, 

which allow the detector to 

be installed in a double-door 

configuration and used to scan 

multiple people simultaneously. INL and the former 

Soviet Union are also working 

to develop sensors capable of 

detecting nonmetallic weapons 

and liquids.

Bioinsecticide Products

At the Sibbiopharm facility, located in 

Berdsk, Russia, 

research is being conducted 

to capture, 

improve and 

commercialize advanced 

microbial bioinsecticide 

products 

used to disrupt the mating patterns 

of noxious 

insects and 

pests. In addition, investigative and 

explorative 

methods will 

be used to 

acquire and 

optimize 

the strain 

selection 

and specific 

manufacturing improvements to the 

virulence of 

current and 

discovered strains of 

Bacillus thuringiensis and 

Bacillus sphaericus.

This project is also applying 

sophisticated technology to 

develop a bioassay laboratory 

to guarantee that the Russian 

The INL-developed concealed 

weapons detector has been 

enhanced with advanced 

low-cost sensors for detecting 

metallic and nonmetallic 

weapons and other concealed 

contrabands.

Continued next page
INL Technologies

John Dwight

208-526-9590

John.Dwight@inl.gov

Trudy Overlin

208-526-0735

Trudy.Overlin@inl.gov

product meets or exceeds 

U.S. standards for technical 

and formulated entomopathogenic products.

Novel Anti-Arthritic Treatments

This project is working on 

the concurrent development 

of novel peptides, peptide 

analogs and nonpeptido-mimetics drugs as a treatment 

of inflammation associated 

with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. 

The approach is to design, 

synthesize and purify potential inhibitors of specific 

matrix metalloproteases, and 

with a U.S. industry partner, 

measure the ability of each 

potential inhibitor to reduce 

specific matrix metalloprotease activity in cell-free and 

in cell-based systems. The 

project work will investigate 

existing compounds that will 

be chemically modified in 

multiple defined ways, with 

each group of modifications 

forming a single existing compound, which will be retested 

for MMP inhibitor activity. 

The best compound from each 

group will be identified. 

Development of 

Anti-cancer Treatments 

This project collaborates with 

select Russian pharmacological research institutes to 

design, synthesize, identify, 

A U.S. Department of Energy

National Laboratory

For more information screen and develop novel and 

proprietary oncological drugs. 

Drug development will center 

on the synthesis of platinumbased compounds that can be 

matched with a commercial 

partner’s “On-Off” anticancer 

platforms. The significance 

of the proposed work will be 

the development of a group 

of aggressive, platinum-based 

anticancer drugs that have 

limiting effects on nontargeted tissues. The outcome 

of this joint venture will be 

to design, synthesize and develop a library of anti-cancer 

agents with higher therapeutic 

indices than what is currently 

available in platinum-based 

anti-cancer drugs.

Major Accomplishments to Date

• 16,000 scientists, engineers and technicians at 180 institutes across the FSU engaged

• 7,400 FSU scientists and engineers currently engaged in GIPP projects.

• $195 million in private sector matches from U.S. industry 

• 30 technologies commercialized and/or received venture capital since 1999 

• $40 million in commercial sales and to U.S. industry partners and FSU scientists

• $119 million in private venture capital in support of GIPP projects

• 2,300 new high-tech jobs created in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine 

INL and former Soviet Union 

researchers are working to 

prevent the spread of West Nile 

virus by developing a natural 

mosquito deterrent using a 

soil-based bacterium. 

Continued from previous page

07-50214-02