Sarah Weiner - Böcker

The Center for Strategic and International Studies launched the Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) in 2003 in order to revitalize and strengthen a community of nuclear weapons experts whose training and background increasingly emphasize multidisciplinary expertise, especially among younger generations. In support of this goal, the PONI conference series was created to provide a forum for facilitating new and innovative thinking on how to address the evolving role of nuclear weapons in international security and to gather people from across the policy and technical communities to discuss key issues. The 2012 conference series included events at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in April, Los Alamos National Laboratory in June, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in October, before concluding with a Capstone Conference at Offutt Air Force Base, home of the U.S. Strategic Command, in March. The papers included in this volume are a collection of some of the presentations delivered at the Capstone Conference. Spanning a wide range of technical and policy issues, these selected papers hope to further discussion in their respective areas, as well as contribute to the success of the greater nuclear community.

Nuclear Notes is a biannual publication of the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) featuring innovative thinking by rising experts in the nuclear field. Its goal is to advance the public debate about nuclear weapons strategy, arms control, nonproliferation, disarmament, and other nuclear issues by providing a forum for sharing new analysis and insight. In particular, this publication seeks to provide an opportunity for graduate students and early career professionals to publish ideas emanating from their independent research or that are connected to their unique vantage point as analysts and implementers of nuclear policy.

The 2013 class of Nuclear Scholars, selected from a very competitive applicant pool, contained some of the best and brightest young professionals in the nuclear field. Drawn from graduate programs, the national labs, the civil service, and the U.S. military, these Nuclear Scholars participated in six monthly workshops that focused on a wide range of nuclear topics. These topics included extended deterrence and assurance, stockpile stewardship, nuclear materials security, Iranian and North Korean proliferation, international nonproliferation norms and treaties, missile defense, and nuclear targeting. The program culminated in a final meeting at which the Nuclear Scholars presented their own research to a panel of senior experts. The papers resulting from these presentations are contained in this year’s volume.