44 Events

Military vehicles carry DF-5B intercontinental ballistic missiles during a parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War II held in front of Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, Sept. 3, 2015.

Voice of America/Wikimedia Commons

Seminar - Open to the Public

Merits of Uncertainty: The Evolution and Future of China’s Nuclear Retaliatory Capability

Wed., Sep. 12, 2018 | 10:00am - 11:30am

Littauer Building - Fainsod Room, 324

Speaker: Wu Riqiang, Research Fellow with the International Security Program and Project on Managing the Atom
 
A simplified nuclear exchange model will be developed to evaluate China’s past and current nuclear retaliatory capability against the Soviet Union and the United States. The modeling suggests that according to Western standards, China’s nuclear retaliation has been and remains far from “assured.” This result reflects China’s special nuclear philosophy, which emphasizes the role of nuclear taboo and prioritizes political control over survivability. However, in the face of U.S. advances in the areas of counterforce and missile defense, China probably has to continue to improve its nuclear forces qualitatively and, if necessary, quantitatively, in order to maintain its deterrent level.

Signatures on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) document.

Public Domain

Seminar - Open to the Public

Iran's Nuclear Decision-Making: Historical Trends and the Role of U.S. Policy

Thu., May 17, 2018 | 10:00am - 11:30am

Littauer Building - Fainsod Room, 324

Speaker: Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, Research Fellow with the Iran Project and Project on Managing the Atom

During this seminar, Sahar Nowrouzzadeh will examine historical trends in Iran's nuclear-decision making and discuss the role of U.S. foreign policy in shaping such decision-making.  This event comes on the heels of President Trump's May 8th decision to have the United States cease fulfilling its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or "Iran nuclear deal," reached between the P5+1, EU and Iran in 2015. The event will be off-the-record.
 

Seminar - Open to the Public

Can Nuclear Energy Thrive in a Carbon-Constrained World?

Fri., May 11, 2018 | 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Littauer Building - Fainsod Room, 324

Speaker: Jacopo Buongiorno, TEPCO Professor and Associate Department Head, Nuclear Science and Engineering, Director, Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems (CANES), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT has recently completed a multi-disciplinary study, to assess the prospects for new nuclear technologies, policies, business models, and regulatory governance to accelerate the transition to a lower-carbon global energy system in the U.S. and around the world.  In this seminar, we will present a set of findings from the MIT study that are focused on (a) cost competitiveness of nuclear in various markets with and without carbon constraints, (b) technology innovations that could substantially reduce the capital cost of new nuclear plants, and (c) regulatory pathways to accelerate the deployment of advanced reactors.

Seminar - Open to the Public

Emerging Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technologies and their Proliferation Risks

Wed., May 9, 2018 | 10:00am - 11:30am

Littauer Building - Fainsod Room, 324

Speaker: Katlyn Turner, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

Technologies are emerging that have the potential to change both the outlook of nuclear power as an electricity source and the security paradigms that protect the international community from clandestine uses of nuclear technology to develop weapons. In this seminar, Katlyn Turner will discuss a few developing technologies in the areas of uranium enrichment, process & part manufacturing, and spent fuel reprocessing, and evaluate these technologies for both their 1) potential utility to change inefficiencies, costs, and waste production in the fuel cycle, and 2) the potential nuclear security and proliferation risks these technologies may pose. She will propose the development of a framework for use by the technical and security communities to evaluate these and future technological advancements to the nuclear fuel cycle.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Seminar - Open to the Public

A Nuclear Role in Decarbonization?

Wed., Apr. 25, 2018 | 10:00am - 11:30am

Littauer Building - Fainsod Room, 324

Speaker: Michael Ford, French Environmental Fellow, Harvard University Center for the Environment.

In this seminar, we will briefly examine the history of the U.S. Department of Energy in advanced nuclear research and development and propose an alternative path that is better suited to the market and technical realities of advanced nuclear concepts. We will also examine broader issues of institutional capacity that may impact the wider deployment of nuclear power to meet carbon mitigation goals.