Thokozile Kabini is a pre-doctoral fellow at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security. She holds a master’s degree in Nuclear Physics from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, where she specialized in nuclear and radiation science. She holds undergraduate degrees in physical sciences and in international relations. In 2012 she joined the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation and in 2014 became a nuclear forensics analyst, with a focus on the analysis of nuclear materials using non-destructive techniques. Thokozile also worked as part of the team at the South African radionuclide laboratory (ZAL14) responsible for analyzing radionuclide samples from international monitoring stations supporting the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. She received training in nuclear forensics measurement at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and a Robin Copeland Memorial Fellowship for next-generation women from the global south interested in nonproliferation and international security.
Research Interests
Thokozile’s research interest revolves around the intersection of nuclear forensics, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and issues related to disarmament and nonproliferation. Her current research explores the application of nuclear forensics approaches, methods and tools to environmental radiological contamination assessment and remediation in the context of the TPNW. This work combines nuclear science, environmental studies, international law, national regulations on radiation safety and policy analysis to address the environmental legacies of nuclear weapons testing. She also is interested in nuclear forensics and environmental sampling as a tool for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation verification under the TPNW and more broadly.
Publications
E. Njoroge, J. T. Kabini, M. Mlambo; T. Ntsoane, T. Hlatshwayo, and J. Malherbe, Investigation of Solid-State Reactions of Pd Films on Single-Crystal 6H-SiC, IEE Conference Proceedings 2018, Open Innovations Conference, October 2018.
Talks
Strengthening Security Through Nuclear Forensics, Princeton School on Science and Global Security, October 12–17, 2023.
ZAL14 Post Certification Challenges and Operational Experiences, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization Radionuclide Laboratories Workshop, April 2023.
Nuclear Security Coordinated Research Project (J02013), International Atomic Energy Agency July 2022. A comparison of gamma spectrometry detectors for analysis of IMS samples, CTBT: Science and Technology conference SnT2021, July 2021.
IAEA Introduction to Nuclear Forensics meeting, The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, November 2019. Technical Meeting on Nuclear Forensics and Cooperation with African States, Country Overview: South Africa. International Atomic Energy Agency, July 2017.