Young scientist works to detect 'dirty bombs'

The world of science is filled with unanswered questions. Michael Sekora, 19, has focused much of his life around just one: "What if the world had an unlimited energy source?"

His studies have found that fusion energy may be the answer.

In his short science career Sekora has assisted researchers at NASA, created a theory on inertial electrostatic confinement fusion and worked with numerous "greats" in the world of nuclear fusion. He spent his summer working on a then-classifed project in the theoretical plasma physics division at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

If Sekora's ideas and theories determined in his time at Los Alamos continue to hold true and eventually become an efficient form of energy, all the world will need is gallons and gallons of sea water, "because all it needs is hydrogen and oxygen," he said. "We'd become extinct before we ran out of energy."

Utilizing fusion energy in day-to-day life could even eliminate the need for power plants. Sekora envisions a generator in each home that would only require users to add water to provide enough energy for the entire family.

In the process of working on the idea of nuclear fusion as a source of energy, Sekora also may have created a way to detect Uranium 235, the element suspected to be used in "dirty bombs" created by terrorists.

The Department of Defense is seeking a way to efficiently and safely detect a Uranium-235 bomb, more commonly known as a "dirty bomb." Uranium is almost undetectable until it's just about ready to cause an explosion, Sekora said, meaning, that a terrorist could sneak a so-called dirty bomb into the United States and cause an explosion that, most likely, could never be traced.

"My device produces large amounts of neutrons to identify the uranium," Sekora said. "Right now we have no way to detect a uranium bomb. It's really a rather significant project."

He expects to publish his research later this year making it his 10th published work before age 20. About to begin his sophomore year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sekora has worked on various other experiments and theories during his education.

Theorist Richard Nebel, familiar with Sekora's work, invited him to join 200 other students theorizing and experimenting at Los Alamos this summer.

The idea of nuclear fusion as a source of energy is an area where Sekora has worked in the past. He first became interested in the idea while a sophomore at Greensburg Central Catholic High School. He has continued to study this idea and publish research papers based on his findings.

Sekora describes his work as the typical vision of a scientist frantically working out equations on a blackboard. And, in his case, it's not far from the truth. Sekora has a chalkboard in the basement of his family's home where he works out problems and has the nuclear fusion problem mapped out for future reference.