Consultant – Integration of the NSIL Telemetry System for Environmental Radiation Monitoring

Job title:

Consultant – Integration of the NSIL Telemetry System for Environmental Radiation Monitoring

Company

International Atomic Energy Agency

Job description

Organizational SettingThe Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications implements the IAEA’s Major Programme 2, “Nuclear Techniques for Development and Environmental Protection”. This Major Programme comprises individual programmes on food and agriculture, human health, water resources, environment and radiation technologies. These programmes are supported by laboratories in Seibersdorf, Monaco and Vienna. The Major Programme’s objective is to enhance the capacity of Member States to meet basic human needs and to assess and manage the marine and terrestrial environments through the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques in sustainable development programmes.The Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences is responsible for assisting and advising Member States in research and development for the nuclear sciences, especially the physical and chemical sciences. Specifically, the Division provides support to Member States in the following fields: production of radioisotopes and radiolabelled products for applications in health care and industry; radiation source applications; research reactor utilization; applications of accelerators and nuclear instrumentation; nuclear and atomic data for applications; controlled nuclear fusion and isotope hydrology and geochemistry.Additionally, the nuclear science activities carried out by the Nuclear Data Section and Physics Section in the Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications fall under Major Programme 1.The Physics Section is responsible for planning and implementing activities in the areas of (i) effective utilization of research reactors and and accelerator-based neutron sources, (ii) fostering relevant research and development and applications using particle accelerators and related instrumentation, and (iii) nuclear fusion science and plasma physics, in order to enable Member States to avail themselves of the benefits of nuclear sciences and technologies. It operates the Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory, located at the Agency’s Laboratories in Seibersdorf, which assists laboratories in Member States to improve the effective utilization of nuclear spectrometry and related instrumentation by providing technical advice, training, calibration services, assistance with the modification and development of nuclear instruments and with new applications of nuclear spectrometry techniques in various fields, including energy related applications, environmental monitoring, industry, and the study of cultural heritage objects.The IAEA Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory (NSIL), located at the Agency’s Laboratories in Seibersdorf, assists Member States to improve the effective utilization of nuclear spectrometry and related instrumentation by providing technical advice, training, calibration services, assistance with the modification and development of nuclear instruments and with new applications of nuclear spectrometry techniques in various fields, including energy related applications, environmental monitoring, industry, and the study of cultural heritage objects.More recently, NSIL has developed a family of compact spectrometers for ionizing radiation monitoring, utilizing scintillator detectors coupled with photomultiplier tubes (PMT) or Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). These spectrometers are based on digital signal processing with field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technologies.The consultant will provide technical expertise and input in the implementation of activities under the sub-programme 1.4.3 Nuclear Instrumentation. Specifically, the plan is to use these spectrometers to effectively address issues related to orphaned sources, radiological contamination, and maliciously introduced sources. To achieve this, the spectrometers need to be integrated with a Single-Board Computer (SBC) and a set of sensors, forming a user-friendly, short-range telemetry system for environmental radiation monitoring.Main PurposeTo provide technical expertise on integration of the NSIL telemetry system for environmental radiation monitoring and input in the implementation of activities under the sub-programme 1.4.3 Nuclear Instrumentation.Functions / Key Results ExpectedThe consultant shall:

• review the FPGA firmware of the spectrometers and advise on possible improvements.
• provide technical input to NSIL in the selection of the optimal SBC that will be used as a central platform for exchanging data (dose, counts, position, altitude, etc) between spectrometers and user computer or a mobile phone over RF, ethernet or serial port (as required).
• develop all necessary application software on the SBC and the host computer (or mobile phone if required) to facilitate the data exchange.
• advise on assembling, packaging the system in a portable form and testing in a field.

Expected Outputs:

• FPGA reviewed and suggested improvements implemented in the form of Xilinx Vitis IP cores based on VHDL/Model Composer/HLS.
• optimal SBC platform selected.
• computer code on SBC platform, host computer and mobile phone (if required) that enables data exchange and data visualization integrated.
• overall system tested, commissioned and documented (system will be assembled and produced by NSIL).

Qualifications and Experience

• University degree in electronics engineering, computer science or physics; PhD in one of these areas would be an asset
• Experience with programming languages such as C++ or Python.
• Minimum three years experience on practical FPGA use for radiation detector readout, acquisition, wireless communications and data treatment.
• Excellent oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is an asset

RemunerationThe remuneration for this consultancy is a daily fee of up to a maximum of € 200, based on qualifications and experience. In case duty travel is required within the assignment, a daily subsistence allowance (DSA) and travel costs are provided. Health coverage and pension fund are the responsibility of the incumbent.

Expected salary

Location

Seibersdorf, Niederösterreich

Job date

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 06:37:28 GMT

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