Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center Announces 2011–2012 Stanton Nuclear Security Fellows

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School has announced the 2011–2012 Stanton Nuclear Security Fellows. Supported by a generous gift from the Stanton Foundation, the fellows will spend a year in residence at the Belfer Center where they will conduct research under the auspices of the Center's International Security Program and Project on Managing the Atom. The fellowships begin in September 2011.

2011–2012 Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowships have been awarded to the following scholars:

Robert L. Brown is assistant professor of political science at Temple University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on international relations theory and international security. He also manages the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation's Public Policy and Nuclear Threats (PPNT) Program. He received his Ph.D. (Political Science, U.C. San Diego) after completing his dissertation in 2008 on the selective use international organizations to cooperate on threats from weapons of mass destruction. His research interests more broadly include international relations theory, international organizations, international security issues, arms control, nuclear policy and nuclear deterrence, and sovereignty issues. He has an M.A. from the George Washington University's Elliott School and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He is writing a book on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s role in the nuclear nonproliferation regime.

James Platte is a Ph.D. candidate in international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.  His academic background includes a B.S. and M.S. in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in science, technology, and public policy from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.  He will be a predoctoral fellow and will continue his dissertation research that focuses on national nuclear fuel cycle policy decision-making.

Wilfred Wan is a Ph.D. candidate in political science at the University of California, Irvine. His dissertation, tentatively titled "Through the Lens of Institutional Theory: Change and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime," considers the sources, loci, and modalities of change within that security institution. He was a 2010–2011 Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Dissertation Fellow.

"The Stanton Foundation has had the wisdom to understand the importance of supporting emerging talent in this critical field, and we are grateful for its continued support in providing opportunities to these outstanding young scholars," said Steven E. Miller, director of the Belfer Center's International Security Program.

The Stanton Foundation

The Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowships are supported by a gift from the Stanton Foundation, established by Frank Stanton, the president of CBS News from 1946–1971. During his 25 years at the network's helm, Stanton turned an also-ran radio network into a broadcasting powerhouse. Stanton died in 2006 at the age of 98 years.

Throughout his life, Stanton was interested in international security and U.S. foreign policy. He served on several presidential commissions charged with preparing the United States for the challenges of living in a nuclear world. In 1954, Dwight Eisenhower appointed Stanton to a committee convened to develop the first comprehensive plan for the nation's survival following a nuclear attack. Stanton was responsible for developing plans for national and international communication in the aftermath of a nuclear incident. According to a statement from the foundation, "The Stanton Foundation aims, through its support of the Nuclear Security Fellows program, to perpetuate his efforts to meet [such] challenges."

The Stanton Foundation notes that Stanton was a strong defender of free speech and was determined to use television as an "instrument of civic education." For example, in 1960 he supported the first televised presidential debates with Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, which required a special act of Congress before they could proceed. These debates were credited with helping Kennedy win the presidency and have since become a staple of U.S. presidential campaigns.