PONI 2011 Spring Conference
The PONI Spring Conference was held from April 4-6, 2011 at the Nevada Support Facility (NSF), and marked the beginning of the 2011 conference series. The event featured two days of selected presentations from graduate students and young professionals in the field on a variety of policy and technical topics, breakout sessions, and an evening reception and dinner at the Atomic Testing Museum. On the third day of the event, participants took part in a tour of the Nevada National Security Site (formerly known as the Nevada Test Site). The conference also included keynote remarks by Robert Kuckuck, Former Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory on The Role of the Nuclear Scientist and the Interface with Policy; Col Melvin Deaile, Chief, Nuclear Plans, Policy and Integration, Air Force Global Strike Command on New Start Implementation in the Air Force; Prof. Mark Welland FRS FREng, Chief Scientific Advisor, UK Ministry of Defence; The Honorable Troy Wade, Former Director, Defense Programs, U.S. Department of Energy; Charles McMillan, Principal Associate Director for Weapons Programs, Los Alamos National Laboratory on Nuclear Deterrence in the Broader Context; and Nancy Holt, Chief of Staff, Office of the President, National Security Technologies on Safety and Security Briefing.
Presentation Panels
Panel 1 - Future Scenarios for Nuclear Strategists and Policymakers
- The Threat that Leaves Something to Chance in U.S.-China Relations, Vincent Manzo
- Then and Now: Australian perspectives on Extended Nuclear Deterrence, Christine Leah
- Tracking a Nuclear al Qaeda, Kristen Hajduk
Panel 2 - Future Nuclear Requirements and Capabilities
- Qualitative Considerations of Nuclear Forces for Future Arms Control Negotiations, Tom Devine and Rebecca Gibbons
- Increasing the Scope of Targets: Requirements and a Proposed Solution, Drake Warren
- Are Conventional Weapons a Viable Option for Damage Limitation Operations against Medium-sized Nuclear-armed Adversaries? Tong Zhao
Panel 3 - Verification and Detection Challenges
- The Challenges of Verifiable Nuclear Warhead Dismantlement, Guy Earle
- Managed Access: Addressing the Technical Problems Associated with Verifying Actual Warhead Reductions, Foy Hubert
- Verification Challenges at Low Numbers, Paul Booker
- The Challenge of Knowledge Transfer among Key Technical Areas and between Generations, Brian Ticknor
Panel 4 - Expanding the Reach of Nonproliferation and Nuclear Security Efforts
- Strengthening the IAEA: the Double Track, Sonia Drobysz
- Paths and Limitations to Universalizing the Additional Protocol, Sarah Poe
- Implementation of 2010 Nuclear Security Summit Commitments, Rob Golan-Vilella
Panel 5 - New Approaches to North Korea and Iran
- Megatons to Megawatts: A New Energy Policy in North Korea, John K. Yi
- Non-proliferation Policy in the Media-Dominated Political Environment: the Iranian Case, Margarita Zolotova
