This month’s FUSION is packed full of news, training workshops, recent publications, music recommendations and job opportunities to keep you up to date with what’s been happening in our field.
Our annual Introduction to Nuclear Technology workshop is back in November, so apply early to secure your place if you’re keen to delve into the science behind nuclear fuel cycles and nuclear weapons and delivery systems. The workshop does not assume any prior knowledge of nuclear technology (and it’s FREE!).
I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce Jack Crawford who has joined the UK PONI team as a part-time Research Assistant! Jack was selected through a blind recruitment process that we’ve recently developed for UK PONI roles. He has recently moved to London from the US to study for his MSc in International Relations at the London School of Economics. We’re very excited to have Jack on board!
Best wishes,
Dr Ana Alecsandru
Research Fellow, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
UK PONI Project lead
UK PONI Event
UK PONI Introduction to Nuclear Technology Workshop
16-17 November 2021, Online
This annual workshop consists of a series of seminars from both RUSI staff and external speakers (Lockheed Martin, Babcock, UK National Nuclear Laboratory) covering the basics of nuclear technology including fuel cycles, nuclear weapons and delivery systems, security and safeguards. The workshop is aimed at early career professionals working in the nuclear policy field, but without a scientific or technological background, including in academia, government and industry.
Recommended Reading
Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace by Michael Krepon
Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace: The Rise, Demise, and Revival of Arms Control by Michael Krepon is an engaging account of how the practice of arms control was built from scratch, how it was torn down, and how it can be rebuilt. What began with a ban on atmospheric testing and a nonproliferation treaty reached its apogee with treaties that mandated deep cuts and corralled ‘loose nukes’ after the Soviet Union imploded. Michael Krepon is the cofounder of the Stimson Center and the winner of a lifetime achievement award from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for his work to reduce nuclear dangers.
Get the book
Atomic Tunes
‘One Key Magic seeks to make audible the way that electromagnetic practices of nuclear deterrence have invisibly shaped our experiences for the past half a century.
Situated on the edge of the North York Moors in North East England are three giant, geodesic domes containing the space radars of the Radio Corporation of America. Built in 1962, the purpose of the ‘radomes’ at RAF Fylingdales was to track everything in Low Earth Orbit and distinguish the signal of an incoming nuclear weapon from the ‘noise’ of satellites and space debris. During the early years of operations at Fylingdales, the supply chain of radar component parts was managed from the same office that dealt with the distribution of records by ABBA, David Bowie and Iggy Pop.
Dr Michael Mulvihill from Newcastle University is the first artist in residence at RAF Fylingdales. Together with musician and producer Chris Tate, the pair formed One Key Magic to interpret and materialise the scintillations and aurora of these electro-magnetic engagements’.
External Events
Nuclear-Conventional Entanglement and Advent of Hypersonic Weapons, The Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation panel, Online, 27 October, 1400 BST. More details and registration here. Diversity and Inclusion in the Non-Proliferation Treaty Process, RUSI panel, 22 November. Details and registration here. The Future of Nuclear Disarmament: A Research, Activism and Policy workshop, Online, 1 December, 1300 GMT. If interested in presenting, send your abstract before 1 November. This event will bring together scholars, activists, and policymakers. Details here. 20th ESARDA Course, May 2022 (registration will open soon). The European Commission, Joint Research Centre announces the 20th ESARDA COURSE on Nuclear Safeguards and Non-Proliferation. The attendance limit is of 200 participants, acceptance is based on ’first registered (and selected) first served’. This compact course is open to Masters degree students, in particular nuclear engineering students, but also to young professionals and International Relations/law students. Online, 16-20 May 2022. Details and registration here.
News Desk
EU, US try to lure Iran back to nuclear talks as hopes fade, 17 October, Politico.
North Korea may test long-range missile over next year: U.S. report, 17 October, Kyodo News.
U.S. concerned by possible Chinese, Russian uses of hypersonic weapons, 18 October, Reuters.
Nuclear bomb detectors reveal hidden blue whale population, 18 October, The Bulletin.
IAEA chief: Aukus could set precedent for pursuit of nuclear submarines, 20 October, The Guardian.
Publications
A wolf in sheep’s clothing? The NPT and symbolic proliferation 8 October, Contemporary Security Policy
US Army’s Precision Strike Missile breaks distance record in flight test 14 October, Defense News
Bilateral strategic stability: What the United States should discuss with Russia. And China 14 October, The Bulletin
Iran’s Evolving Nuclear Program and Implications for U.S. Policy 15 October, CSIS
AQ Khan is Dead – Long Live the Proliferation Network 15 October, RUSI
China’s Orbital Bombardment System Is Big, Bad News—but Not a Breakthrough 18 October, Foreign Policy
Narrative and nuclear weapons politics: the entelechial force of the nuclear origin myth 20 October, International Theory
Jobs & Internships
SDA Nuclear Engineer, UK Ministry of Defence. The deadline to apply is 1 November. Details and application here.
SDA Nuclear Infrastructure Engineer, UK Ministry of Defence. The deadline to apply is 1 November. Details and application here.
Lecturer in International Relations, University of Leicester. The deadline to apply is 4 November. Details and application here.
Research Associate at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP). The deadline to apply is 15 November. Details and application here.