News & Impact

IN D.C.

The Belfer Center’s National Security Fellows traveled to Washington, D.C. in early May for meetings at the White House, State Department, Pentagon, and other agencies to present takeaways from their research. They met with the Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Joseph Dunford, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, and other top leaders.

Former National Security Fellow James McConville has been nominated by the White House to become the next Army Chief of Staff.

On May 13, the Technology and Public Purpose Project (TAPP) and New America's Public Interest Tech Teams co-hosted the Data Privacy + Design Workshop in Washington DC. The event brought together UX/UI designers, engineers, privacy experts from civil society organizations, research- ers, and congressional staff. TAPP is also working on a forthcoming report that will examine the landscape of science and technology (S&T) expertise and resources available to Congress.

AWARDS

Belfer Center Director and former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Science, Technology, and Public Policy Co-Director and former Science Advisor to the President John P. Holdren have been selected by the government of Japan to receive the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun awards for their notable contributions to strengthening Japan-U.S. relations in the fields of security/ defense and science/technology, respectively.

Carter will receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun and Holdren the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. They are recognized for their work with Japan during the Obama administration.

Matthew Meselson, Belfer Center Board member and Harvard Professor, has received the $50,000 Future of Life Award for his role in the 1972 biological Weapons Convention, an international treaty that affirmed the existing ban on the use of biological weapons and also banned production, stockpiling, and offensive research into biological weapons.

BEFORE CONGRESS

In April, Project on Managing the Atom’s Matthew Bunn, Nickolas Roth, and William H. Tobey released a policy brief calling on Congress to increase funding for programs that reduce the dangers of nuclear theft and terrorism. Their brief is titled “Securing Nuclear Weapons and Materials Worldwide: Expanded Funding Needed for a More Ambitious Approach.”

At a hearing in March on “China’s Challenges to U.S. Commerce,” Eric Rosenbach testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation about China’s move into the Information Age. Without a U.S. national strategy, he said, our country “risks ceding its leadership role in future economic, military, and political landscapes.”

Nicholas Burns and Douglas Lute testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March about NATO and the vital importance of American leadership in the alliance. On the seventieth anniversary of NATO, Burns and Lute discussed their report, NATO at Seventy: An Alliance in Crisis, at the Munich Security Conference and at several other major events.

SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION

Through panel discussions, presentations, and interviews about her new book, How We Win, Senior Fellow Farah Pandith continues to raise awareness of why she believes young people become extremists and how to prevent that conversion.

Amanda Sloat, fellow with the Project on Europe and Transatlantic Relations, has helped keep the world informed on Brexit issues and U.S.-Europe relations through her insightful commentary in print and broadcast media.