The Increasing Danger of Nuclear Weapons: How Physicists Can Help Reduce the Threat

Administration

Description

The danger from nuclear weapons is increasing, with nuclear threats, a buildup of nuclear capabilities, deterioration of the multi-decade arms control regime, continuing slow increase in the number of nuclear weapon states (now nine), and new destabilizing technologies such as cyber hacking. Physicists, particularly through collective action, can uniquely influence nuclear weapons policy. While actively engaged prior to the end of the Cold War, physicists’ engagement subsequently declined.

It is now time for physicists to re-engage.

The workshop focuses on three topics:

How to inform physicists about nuclear arms issues and engage them in advancing policy change: National organizing efforts, such as visits by experts to physics institutions for presentations and discussion, and local efforts, such as development of courses on nuclear weapons and their control.

New technical issues affecting nuclear weapons policy: Cyber and anti-satellite threats to nuclear weapon command and control systems, missile defense systems that provoke offensive buildups, climate impacts of nuclear war, and the effects of new sensors and artificial intelligence on strategic stability.

Physicists as advocates for policy changes: Past successes and failures, how physicists might organize today, potential policy goals, and potential collaboration between physicists across national boundaries.

Grants: A limited number of grants are available to support the attendance of selected participants, with priority given to participants from developing countries. There is no registration fee.

Material

Group Photo Poster Preliminary list of Participants

The Increasing Danger of Nuclear Weapons: How Physicists Can Help Reduce the Threat | (smr 3889)

Go to day

Monday, 23 October 2023

09:00 - 09:50

09:00 Registration formalities 30' ( Adriatico Guest House - (Lower Level 1) )

REGISTRATION: Upon arrival, Visitors not staying in the ICTP Guest Houses, are kindly requested to complete registration formalities at the Adriatico Guest House (Lower level). The Registration Desk will be open from 9.00 to 9.30.

09:30 Welcome Remarks 5'

Speaker: Ralf KAISER (ICTP, Italy)
09:35 Introduction to workshop 15'

Speaker: Stewart PRAGER (Princeton University, USA)

09:50 - 14:00 Nuclear Weapons Dangers: Past, Present and Future

Chair: Frank VON HIPPEL (Princeton University, USA)

09:50 Overview of technical status of nuclear weapons 35'

Speaker:	Steve FETTER (University of Maryland, USA)
Material:	Slides

10:25 Discussion 15' ( Giambiagi Lecture Hall (AGH) )
10:40 Overview of nuclear arms control agreements and efforts 35'

Speaker: Gotz NEUNECK (University of Hamburg, Germany)
11:15 Discussion 15'
11:30 Coffee Break 15'
11:45 The TPNW: Scientific and Policy Aspects 40'

Speaker: Zia MIAN (Princeton University, USA)
12:25 Discussion 15'
12:40 Group Photo 5'
12:45 Lunch Break 1h15'

14:00 - 19:00 Scientific/Technical Developments affecting Nuclear Arms Control

Chair: Juergen ALTMANN (Technical University Dortmund, Germany)

14:00 Nuclear Winter: Global famine after nuclear war 35' ( Adriatico Guest House - Giambiagi Lecture Hall )

Speaker:	Alan ROBOCK (Rutgers University, USA)
Material:	Slides

14:35 Discussion 15'
14:50 Missile defense: technical prospects and effects on arms racing 35'

Speaker: Laura GREGO (Union of Concerned Scientists, USA)
15:25 Discussion 15'
15:40 Coffee Break 20'

16:00 Next generation satellite nuclear monitoring and nuclear stability 35'

Speaker:	Igor MORIC (Princeton University, USA)
Material:	Slides

16:35 Discussion 15'
16:50 Quantum technologies and nuclear weapons 35'

Speaker: Lindsay RAND (University of Maryland, USA)
17:25 Discussion 15'

17:40 Nuclear arms control and disarmament verification 35'

Speaker:	Gerald KIRCHNER (University of Hamburg, Germany)
Material:	Slides

18:15 Discussion 15'
18:30 Preparing for tomorrow 30'

Speaker: Curtis ASPLUND (San José State University, USA)

Tuesday, 24 October 2023

09:00 - 19:00 Physicists as Advocates for Reducing Nuclear Weapons Dangers

Chiar: Curtis ASPLUND (San José State University, USA)

09:00 The history of physicist-advocacy 35' ( Adriatico Guest House - Giambiagi Lecture Hall )

Speaker:	Frank VON HIPPEL (Princeton University, USA)
Material:	Slides

09:35 Discussion 15'

09:50 Transnational nuclear arms control efforts 35'

Speaker:	Matthew EVANGELISTA (Cornell University, USA)
Material:	Slides

10:25 Discussion 15'
10:40 Coffee Break 20'

11:00 Current efforts involving physicists 1h30'

Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft/FONAS 
(Gotz NEUNECK, University of Hamburg, Germany)

The American Physical Society 
(Laura GREGO, Union of Concerned Scientists, USA)

Activism in the UK 
(David ELLWOOD, British Pugwash)

Early-career scientist activities 
(Talia WEISS, Yale University, USA)

UCS Global Security Program
(Tara DROZDENKO, Union of Concerned Scientists, USA)

The Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction 
(Stewart PRAGER, Princeton University, USA)

Princeton Program on Science and Global Security 
(Zia MIAN, Princeton University, USA)

Material:

Slides

12:30 Lunch Break 1h0'

13:30 Advocacy in US, China, Russia 1h30'

Chair: Tong ZHAO (Carnegie Foundation, USA)

Speaker:	Tara DROZDENKO (Union of Concerned Scientists, USA), Pavel PODVIG (UN institute for Disarmament Research, Switzerland), Timur KADYSHEV (University of Hamburg, Germany ), WU Riqiang (Renmin University, China)
Material:	Slides

15:00 Advocacy in Europe and Japan 1h30'

Chair: Friederike FRIESS (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU))

Speaker:	David ELLWOOD (British Pugwash), Venance JOURNE (Laboratoire de météorologie dynamique, France), Mortiz KÜTT (Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg), Francesco LENCI (National Research Council, Italy), Tatsujiro SUZUKI (Nagasaki University, Japan)
Material:	Slides

16:30 Coffee Break 20'

16:50 Advocacy in the Global South 1h40'

Chair: Karen HALLBERG (Centro Atomico Bariloche, Argentina)

Speaker:	Bárbara CRUVINEL SANTIAGO (Columbia University, USA), Pervez HOODBHOY (Pakistan), M.V. RAMANA (University of British Columbia, Canada), Adnan SHIHAB-ELDIN (Kuwait)
Material:	Slides

18:30 Preparing for tomorrow 30'

Speaker: Zia MIAN (Princeton University, USA)

19:30 - 21:00
- 19:30 Welcome Reception 1h30' ( Adriatico Guest House Cafeteria )
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All participants are cordially invited to a Welcome reception
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Wednesday, 25 October 2023

09:00 - 11:15 What Physicists can do as Advocates

09:00 Breakout groups 1h0'

Chairs: Curtis Tor ASPLUND (San José State University, USA), Tara DROZDENKO (Union of Concerned Scientists, USA), Friederike FRIESS (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU)), KÜTT Mortiz (Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg)

10:00 Reports from the breakout groups 1h0'

Chair: Tatsujiro SUZUKI (Nagasaki University, Japan)

11:00 Coffee Break 15'

11:15 - 14:20 Engaging Physicists in Nuclear Arms Control and Disarmament
- 11:15 Organizational structures to engage physicists 40'
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Chair: Gotz NEUNECK  (University of Hamburg, Germany)
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- 11:45 Engaging physicists in ethics and consequences of work on nuclear weapons 45'
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Chair: Zia MIAN (Princeton University, USA)
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- 12:30 Lunch Break 1h0'
- 13:30 Reframing the nuclear debate 50'
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Chair: Stewart PRAGER (Princeton University, USA)
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14:20 - 17:15 Educating Physicists

Chair: Talia WEISS (Yale University, USA)

14:20 Formal university education 50'

Speaker:	Juergen ALTMANN (Technical University Dortmund, Germany), Brianne GUTMANN (San Jose State University, USA), Gotz NEUNECK (University of Hamburg)
Material:	Slides

15:10 Coffee Break 20'

15:30 Special educational workshops or schools 20'

Speaker:	Laura GREGO (Union of Concerned Scientists, USA), Mortiz KÜTT (Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg), Carlo SCHAERF (ISODARCO, Italy)
Material:	Slides

15:50 Synopsis of AMC Teaching Workshop/Collecting disarmament courses 30'

Speaker:	Juergen ALTMANN (Technical University Dortmund, Germany)
Material:	Slides

16:20 Workshop summary and wrap-up discussion 40'

Speaker: Stewart PRAGER (Princeton University, USA)
17:00 Adjourn 15'