NuFor 2026 brings global nuclear forensics community together
Delegates from six countries and 33 universities, national laboratories, industrial and government organisations gathered in Liverpool last week for NuFor 2026, the only open international conference dedicated to nuclear forensics and nuclear security.
Sponsored by AWE and the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL), and delivered in partnership with the Institute of Physics, the annual event provides a unique forum for sharing developments, research and best practice across the nuclear forensics community. This year’s conference, held from 13 to 15 October at the ‘Spaces at the Spine’ venue, Liverpool, welcomed around 100 delegates, including representatives from six of AWE’s strategic partner organisations.
Nuclear forensics plays an important role in supporting national nuclear security by applying scientific techniques to identify, characterise and understand nuclear and radiological materials found outside of regulatory control. Delivering this unique capability requires close collaboration between scientists, engineers, policy makers, law enforcement organisations and national security specialists, both at a national level within the UK, and internationally through strategic partnerships.
Over three days, delegates explored the latest developments in nuclear forensics, across a broad range of topics, with talks in subject areas including analytical techniques, radiochemistry, materials science, modelling and simulation, environmental science, and sensor technologies. Invited speakers at NuFor 2026 included representatives from the UK Home Office, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency and several US national laboratories.
A distinctive feature of NuFor is its commitment to supporting future talent, with the event continuing to platform students and early-career professionals to showcase their work alongside established researchers and jointly explore potential career pathways into nuclear security and related STEM disciplines.
The conference also highlighted the strength of partnerships across UK industry, with invited contributions from UK national laboratories, universities and partner organisations working together to advance nuclear forensics capability. Researchers from several AWE-supported academic programmes and strategic partner organisations, including through the NTR-Net Academic Network, took part in this year’s event, demonstrating the value of long-term collaboration across the national security community.
Looking ahead, NuFor will continue to provide a vital platform for scientific collaboration, knowledge sharing and partnership building within nuclear security. The conference will be hosted at the University of Bristol in October 2027, before returning to London in 2028 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
