Volume 3, Number 1
May 2005

First INMM Student Chapter Formed at Texas A&M

By Mark Leek
Student Activities Committee Chair

The first student chapter in the history of INMM has been formed at Texas A&M University (TAMU). This is a story of individual leadership and initiative and reflects a growing culture of support for nonproliferation.

The impetus came entirely from faculty and students, and contrary to the governing rules of INMM, was created without prior INMM notification and approval. The INMM Executive Committee acted quickly to ratify this fortuitous development in the evolution of INMM.

According to INMM Constitution and Bylaws, there is a specific process for forming a chapter. It consists of a petition by seven INMM members, approval of the petition by the Executive Committee, followed by submittal and approval of the Chapter Constitution by the Executive Committee.

At TAMU, adherence to university and INMM procedures for starting a student organization came after the fact. The idea for a student chapter originated with William Charlton and Paul Nelson, professors is the Department of Nuclear Engineering. Charlton is passionate about nuclear nonproliferation, and collaborated with NA-20 in starting a nonproliferation masters degree program.

He approached several students, including Mark Scott, the first chapter president, and asked them if they would like to form an INMM student chapter. One thing most of the core members share is nonproliferation and nuclear management work-related experience at Los Alamos National Laboratory, including summer classes.

Following the creation of a student chapter, students came to learn that there are a number of university requirements that must be satisfied in order to form a student organization. Officers must attend training seminars, start a bank account, and adopt a university-sanctioned accounting system.

Once these were satisfied, officers notified INMM of the new organization, and were informed of INMM requirements. The requisite number of students quickly obtained INMM student memberships, and officers wrote a constitution.

The Executive Committee notified the TAMU Student Chapter that it would consider both the petition and constitution as having been provided simultaneously. The Executive Committee reviewed the application materials on Feb. 22 and immediately informed students that the chapter had been approved.

This is an active chapter by anyone’s standards. It started out with around 15 members and has already increased to about 20. Not all who belong to the chapter are INMM members.

The centerpiece of the chapter’s activities is a biweekly student forum, alternating with outside speakers. Outside speakers have included Carol Kessler from Pacific Northwest National Lab’s Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security, who spoke on “Making Nonproliferation Policy Work,” and three INMM representatives, John Matter (Sandia), Hiroshi Hoida (Los Alamos) and Mark Leek (PNNL), who visited to discuss the progress of the TAMU Chapter and offer presentations on different dimensions of nuclear materials management.

Student presentations have addressed various nuclear management and nonproliferation topics. One session devoted to North Korea featured two speakers, a nuclear engineering student who addressed North Korea’s nuclear program, and a student from the George Bush School of Government and Public Service who addressed the policy dimensions of the North Korean nuclear crisis.

The event was attended by some 50 students. Chapter officers attribute the large attendance to the increasing interest of students in the topic of nonproliferation.

The chapter raises money from membership dues, faculty donations, and a $500 contribution from INMM, the standard amount that INMM gives to chapters. The chapter broke even on the sale of T-shirts featuring a nonproliferation-related caricature of Kim Jong-il.

A future challenge for the chapter is how to recruit members from outside the Nuclear Engineering Department. Students from the Bush School of Government and Public Service, for instance, attend speaking events, but so far none have joined the chapter.

With the departure of students through graduation, a second slate of officers has been elected. Karen Miller is president, Amy Maslowski is vice president, and Kristin Chesson is secretary.