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Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary (2011)

Chapter: Appendix C: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13259.
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Appendix C

Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches

C. Paul Robinson (Chair, National Academy of Engineering [NAE]) served as Laboratories Director and President of Sandia National Laboratories from 1995 to 2005. He currently serves as the President Emeritus of Sandia National Laboratories. From 1988 to 1990, Dr. Robinson served as an Ambassador and Chief Negotiator as Head of the U.S. Delegation to the U.S./USSR Nuclear Testing Talks in Geneva. From 1985 to 1988, Dr. Robinson served as Senior Vice President and Principal Scientist of Ebasco Services, Inc. He spent much of his early career at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) from 1967 to 1985 and led its nuclear weapons and other defense programs. He serves as Chairman of Science and Technology (S&T) Council of ICx Technologies, Inc. and has been its member since February 7, 2007. He has been a member of Strategic Advisory Group for the Commander, U.S. Strategic Command since 1991. He is active on Defense Science Board studies. He also served on the Scientific Advisory Group on Effects for the Defense Nuclear Agency. Dr. Robinson received the DOE Secretary’s Gold Award in October 2004; the American Physical Society Pake Prize in 2003 for outstanding leadership and research accomplishments; and the Outstanding Public Service Medal from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dr. Robinson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Christian Brothers College, a Ph.D. in Physics from Florida State University and an Honorary Doctorate from Christian Brothers University.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13259.
×

Charles Forsberg is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Executive Director for the MIT Nuclear Fuel Cycle Study. Before joining MIT he was a Corporate Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Forsberg received the 2002 American Nuclear Society Special Award for Innovative Nuclear Reactors, and in 2005 the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Robert E. Wilson Award in recognition of chemical engineering contributions to nuclear energy, including his work on reprocessing, waste management, repositories, and production of liquid fuels using nuclear energy. He holds 10 patents and has published more than 250 papers. Dr. Forsberg’s current research interests include development of integrated nuclear fuel cycles, advanced high-temperature nuclear reactors using liquid-salt coolants, and development of global nuclear-renewables energy systems. The characteristics of each of these areas are the coupling of different technologies to enhance performance or create new capabilities. He is a licensed, professional engineer.

William Charlton serves as the director of the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) at Texas A&M University and as an associate professor in the nuclear engineering department. NSSPI is a multi-disciplinary organization that coordinates research and education programs in the area of nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear security, and nuclear material safeguards. NSSPI customers include NNSA (National Nuclear Safety Administration), DOE (Department of Energy), DNDO (Domestic Nuclear Detection Office), NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), and NSF (National Science Foundation). Prior to his appointment at Texas A&M University, he was an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin and prior to that served on the technical staff in the Nonproliferation and International Security Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He teaches courses which study the technical aspects of nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and nuclear security as well as fundamentals of nuclear engineering. Dr. Charlton is recognized as one of the leaders in the technical area of nuclear nonproliferation and has over 150 technical publications in refereed journals and conference proceedings.

Sharon Squassoni serves as director and senior fellow of the Proliferation Prevention Program at the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, Ms. Squassoni was a senior associate in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. From 2002 to 2007, Ms. Squassoni advised Congress as a senior specialist in weapons of mass destruction at the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Library of Congress. Before joining CRS, she

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13259.
×

worked briefly as a reporter in the Washington bureau of Newsweek magazine. Ms. Squassoni also served in the executive branch of government from 1992 to 2001. Her last position was Director of Policy Coordination for the Nonproliferation Bureau at the State Department. She also served as a policy planner for the Political-Military Bureau at State. She began her career in the government as a nuclear safeguards expert in the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. She is the recipient of various service awards and has published widely. She is a frequent commentator for U.S. and international media outlets. Ms. Squassoni received her B.A. in political science from the State University of New York at Albany, a Masters in Public Management from the University of Maryland, and a Masters in National Security Strategy from the National War College.

Staff

Sarah C. Case (Study Director, Rapporteur) is a senior program officer in the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Research Council (NRC). She manages a portfolio of consensus studies and workshops focused on technical issues related to nuclear security and non-proliferation. Her professional interests focus on nuclear nonproliferation as well as nuclear safety and security. She has directed multiple NRC Studies, including Understanding and Managing Risk in the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex (2011) and Progress, Challenges, And Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors from Highly Enriched to Low Enriched Uranium Fuel (Ongoing). Dr. Case’s previous projects at the NRC have also addressed issues related to nuclear energy, electrical transmission and distribution, and the health effects of radiation. Dr. Case received her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago and her B.A. in physics from Columbia University.

Kevin D. Crowley is the senior board director of the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, which advises the National Academies on the design and conduct of studies on radiation health effects, radioactive-waste management and environmental cleanup, and nuclear security and terrorism. The board also provides scientific support to the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima, Japan, a joint U.S.-Japanese scientific organization that investigates the health effects arising from exposures to ionizing radiation among World War II atomic-bombing survivors. Dr. Crowley’s professional interests and activities focus on the safety, security, and technical efficacy of nuclear and radiation-based technologies. He has directed or codirected some 20 National Research Council (NRC) studies, including Safety and Security of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage (2005); Going the Distance: The Safe Transport of Spent Nuclear

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13259.
×

Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste in the United States (2006); Medical Isotope Production without Highly Enriched Uranium (2009); and America’s Energy Future: Technology and Transformation (2009). Before joining the NRC staff, Dr. Crowley held teaching/research positions at Miami University of Ohio, the University of Oklahoma, and the U.S. Geological Survey. He received his Ph.D. in geology from Princeton University.

Benjamin Rusek works as a program officer for the Committee on International Security and Arms Control (CISAC) at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences on projects related to nonproliferation, arms control, and the misuse of science and technology. Mr. Rusek manages CISAC’s interaction with the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament in Beijing, CISAC’s sub panel examining threats related to biological weapons and dual use biotechonolgy and serves as program staff on CISAC’s “Track II” dialogues and CISAC-administered National Research Council studies. Outside of the NAS, Mr. Rusek is the chair of the Executive Board of International Student Young Pugwash (ISYP) and frequently works with the Nobel Peace Prize winning Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Previously, he held various positions at the Henry L. Stimson Center, the Arms Control Association, and the National Air and Space Museum (as an Ohio State University John Glenn Institute Policy Fellow). Mr. Rusek has political science degrees from Ohio State University and Purdue University, where he was the president of Purdue University Student Pugwash.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13259.
×
Page 83
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13259.
×
Page 84
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13259.
×
Page 85
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13259.
×
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The worldwide expansion of nuclear energy has been accompanied by concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation. If sited in states that do not possess nuclear weapons technology, some civilian nuclear technologies could provide a route for states or other organizations to acquire nuclear weapons. Metrics for assessing the resistance of a nuclear technology to diversion for non-peaceful uses-proliferation resistance-have been developed, but at present there is no clear consensus on whether and how these metrics are useful to policy decision makers.

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy asked the National Academies to convene a public workshop addressing the capability of current and potential methodologies for assessing host state proliferation risk and resistance to meet the needs of decision makers. Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles is a summary of presentations and discussions that transpired at the workshop-held on August 1-2, 2011-prepared by a designated rapporteur following the workshop. It does not provide findings and recommendations or represent a consensus reached by the symposium participants or the workshop planning committee. However, several themes emerged through the workshop: nonproliferation and new technologies, separate policy and technical cultures, value of proliferation resistance analysis, usefulness of social science approaches.

The workshop was organized as part of a larger project undertaken by the NRC, the next phase of which (following the workshop) will be a consensus study on improving the assessment of proliferation risks associated with nuclear fuel cycles. This study will culminate in a report prepared by a committee of experts with expertise in risk assessment and communication, proliferation metrics and research, nuclear fuel cycle facility design and engineering, international nuclear nonproliferation and national security policy, and nuclear weapons design. This report is planned for completion in the spring of 2013.

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