Dr. Matthew Bunn discussed rethinking nuclear deterrence in the context of a multipolar nuclear world, the fever pitch of hostility between nuclear-armed states, and new technologies from hypersonic missiles to artificial intelligence. Dr. Bunn is the James R. Schlesinger Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security, and Foreign Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

May 22, 2023 |

Dr. J. Luis Rodriguez, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), discussed the politics of imprecision in security-related international treaties. Dr. Rodriguez addressed why states choose to obfuscate the definitions of the object they set out to limit through international law, for example the lack of a definition for “nuclear weapon” in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

May 16, 2023 |

Dr. Sameer Lalwani, a senior expert on South Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace, discussed what he terms a “natural” U.S.-India partnership with regard to technology research and development. While India has expertise in critical and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, autonomy, and biotechnology, the country could benefit from U.S.–likely private sector–investment to fully harness its technological potential.

April 17, 2023 |

Monte Mallin, the Deputy Director of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, discussed the NNSA mission space with regard to the nuclear security landscape. In his current role, Mallin helps to oversee the implementation of enterprise-wide strategic planning, governance, and internal NNSA directives.

April 6, 2023 |

Dr. Jasen Castillo, Associate Professor of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University and Co-Director of the Albritton Center for Grand Strategy, discussed a framework for strategic stability.

Asfandyar Mir (@asfandyarmir) is a Postdoctoral fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. Mr. Mir holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. His research interests span international security and comparative politics, with current work focusing on counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, drone warfare, political violence, al-Qaida, and South Asian security issues. Some of his research has appeared in International Security, International Studies Quarterly, and Security Studies.

Ruhee Neog (@ruheeneog) is a security and foreign policy analyst and Director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) in India. Her research considers the role of norms, language, and institutions in determining choices and behavior in international relations. Nuclear policy, emerging technologies, and cyber security are areas of particular interest. She has a wide-ranging portfolio of writing and speaking engagements at the national and international levels. At IPCS, Ms. Neog is responsible for setting and supervising research and programmatic mandates across all its verticals. She is currently visiting fellow at the CMC at Sandia National Laboratories, and visiting faculty at the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs’ Central Detective Training School, where she lectures on the links between intelligence and foreign policy. She has been awarded research fellowships supported by the Stimson Center and Nuclear Threat Initiative. Past appointments include political and policy work with the Houses of Lords and Commons, and Bell Pottinger, a public affairs firm, in the UK. Ruhee has a postgraduate degree in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and an undergraduate degree in Literature from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

Dr. Pramod Jaiswal (@contactniice) is a Research Director at Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement and General Secretary of Center for Diplomacy and Development and is a current Visiting Fellow at the CMC at Sandia National Laboratories. He has been a regular and visiting faculty at different universities of Nepal (Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University and Pokhara University) and China (China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing; Fudan University, Shanghai and Tongji University, Shanghai). He is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi. Previously, Dr. Jaiswal worked with Manohar Parikkar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi and as Delhi Correspondent with the Rising Nepal. He is the Member of the Editorial Board, Journal of International Affairs, Kathmandu; Member of the Academic Committee at the Pangoal Institution, Beijing; Member of International Advisory Committee, Journal of Liberty and International Affairs, Macedonia; and the Member of the Editorial Board, Gandhara Journal of Research in Social Science, Pakistan and member of Subject Committee of International Relations and Diplomacy, Tribhuvan University. Mr. Jaiswal holds Masters, M. Phil, and PhD from School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has authored, edited, and co-edited around dozens of books on China and South Asia affairs.

Hannah Haegeland (@HHaegeland) is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories with expertise in Indian Ocean Region and South Asian regional security, nuclear issues, interstate crises, and risk reduction. She manages South Asia engagement for Sandia’s CMC, promoting global security in the 21st century through scientific engagement. In this capacity, Ms. Haegeland convenes Track 1.5 and Track 2 engagements, designs and facilitates wargames and tabletop exercises, leads cooperative research studies between the CMC and partner countries, and supports Sandia training workshops, courses, and laboratory visits. Her recent research focuses on cyber and emerging technology-enabled escalation in Southern Asia and prospects for cooperative risk reduction measures. Ms. Haegeland is a co-editor and author of Investigating Crises: South Asia’s Lessons, Evolving Dynamics, and Trajectories (Stimson, 2018) and her analysis has been featured in a variety of policy outlets including Foreign Affairs and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Prior to joining Sandia, Ms. Haegeland held research and teaching positions in Kathmandu, New Delhi, and Washington, D.C.

Feroz Hassan Khan, Pakistan Army Brigadier General (ret.), currently serves as a research professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Brigadier Khan has experience in combat action and command on active fronts on the Line of Control in Kashmir, the Siachin Glacier, and the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He has worked on numerous assignments in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He served as Director Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs, in the Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, Joint Services Headquarters. Brigadier Khan had been a key contributor in formulating Pakistan’s security policies on nuclear and conventional arms control and strategic stability in South Asia. He produced recommendations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and represented Pakistan in several multilateral and bilateral arms control negotiations on peace and security in South Asia and international treaties related to weapons of mass destruction.  Brigadier Khan holds an M.A. International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), John Hopkins University, Washington DC. He has held a series of visiting fellowships at Stanford University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the Brookings Institution; Center for Non-Proliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and at the Cooperative Monitoring Center, Sandia National Laboratory. He also taught courses as a visiting faculty at the Department of the Defense and Strategic Studies, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. He has widely participated in international and national conferences on strategic issues, international security, terrorism, nuclear arms control and non-proliferation issues. Brigadier Khan has published widely, most famously his book Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistani Bomb.

Tong Zhao (@zhaot2005) is a senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, based in Beijing at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. His research focuses on strategic security issues, such as nuclear weapons policy, deterrence, arms control, nonproliferation, missile defense, hypersonic weapons, and China’s security and foreign policy. Mr. Zhao serves on the board of directors of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and on the advisory board of the Missile Dialogue Initiative. Mr. Zhao is also an associate editor of Science & Global Security and is a member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials. Previously he was a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at Harvard University, a nonresident WSD-Handa Fellow at Pacific Forum, and worked for the Office of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality. He holds a PhD in science, technology, and international affairs from Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as an MA in international relations and a BS in physics from Tsinghua University. Mr. Zhao is the author of “Tides of Change: China’s Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarines and Strategic Stability” and “Narrowing the U.S.-China Gap on Missile Defense: How to Help Forestall a Nuclear Arms Race.”

Sylvia Mishra (@MishraSylvia) is a doctoral researcher at King’s College London, where her research focuses on nuclear strategy and nonproliferation, Southern Asian security, and emerging technologies. She co-chairs both the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Working Group for Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security (WCAPS) and the Indian Women in International Relations Forum at Global Policy Insights. A CSIS Mid-Career Cadre scholar, Ms. Mishra was previously an India-US Fellow at New America, an Accelerator Initiative Fellow at the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, a Scoville Fellow at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, a Carnegie New Leader. She also worked in New Delhi at the Observer Research Foundation on India-U.S. defense and security ties. Ms. Mishra has been invited to present papers, deliver talks, and participate in crisis simulation and Track 2 dialogues at various national and international forums. Her publications include book chapters, journal articles, and opinion pieces, and she was featured in Women in Foreign Policy. She holds a BA in political science from Hindu College, University of Delhi, an MSc in international relations from London School of Economics, and an MA in nonproliferation and terrorism studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Andrew Reddie (@areddie89) is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley, where he works on projects related to wargaming, nuclear issues, and cybersecurity. Dr. Reddie is currently a Bridging the Gap New Era Fellow, Hans J. Morgenthau Fellow, and a Krulak Center Non-Resident Fellow at Marine Corps University. His work has appeared in publications such as Science, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and the Journal of Cyber Policy.

Hannah Haegeland (@HHaegeland) is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories with expertise in Indian Ocean Region and South Asian regional security, nuclear issues, interstate crises, and risk reduction. She manages South Asia engagement for Sandia’s CMC, promoting global security in the 21st century through scientific engagement. In this capacity, Ms. Haegeland convenes Track 1.5 and Track 2 engagements, designs and facilitates wargames and tabletop exercises, leads cooperative research studies between the CMC and partner countries, and supports Sandia training workshops, courses, and laboratory visits. Her recent research focuses on cyber and emerging technology-enabled escalation in Southern Asia and prospects for cooperative risk reduction measures. Ms. Haegeland is a co-editor and author of Investigating Crises: South Asia’s Lessons, Evolving Dynamics, and Trajectories (Stimson, 2018) and her analysis has been featured in a variety of policy outlets including Foreign Affairs and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Prior to joining Sandia, Ms. Haegeland held research and teaching positions in Kathmandu, New Delhi, and Washington, D.C.

Aaron Bateman (@aaronbateman22) is a PhD student in the history of science and technology at Johns Hopkins University. His research uses recently declassified documents to investigate the U.S. pursuit of anti-satellite weapons and space-based missile defense and its consequences for both arms control and transatlantic security. Prior to graduate school, Mr. Bateman served as a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer with assignments at the National Security Agency and the Pentagon. He led an inter-agency effort to improve the ability of the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community to evaluate and respond to space threats. In addition to his academic work, Mr. Bateman provides subject matter expertise on national security space issues for the U.S. Government. His policy commentary on space security has appeared in War on the Rocks, The Hill, and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Dr. Nancy K. Hayden is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, where she leads strategic foresight and decision analysis on how policy and technology developments in disruptive fields – such as Artificial Intelligence and Space Systems – will impact human security and global stability. Dr. Hayden is an expert on the science of complex systems and peace engineering in international security and conflict settings.  Over the course of her 35-year career at Sandia, she has lead U.S. and international teams for nuclear safety and waste management, nuclear nonproliferation, and countering Weapons of Mass Destruction. Driven by a commitment to advancing the power of women to change the world, Dr. Hayden’s passion is applying systems thinking and fielding innovations to transform conflict-ridden societies from local to global levels.

Hannah Haegeland (@HHaegeland) is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories with expertise in Indian Ocean Region and South Asian regional security, nuclear issues, interstate crises, and risk reduction. She manages South Asia engagement for Sandia’s CMC, promoting global security in the 21st century through scientific engagement. In this capacity, Ms. Haegeland convenes Track 1.5 and Track 2 engagements, designs and facilitates wargames and tabletop exercises, leads cooperative research studies between the CMC and partner countries, and supports Sandia training workshops, courses, and laboratory visits. Her recent research focuses on cyber and emerging technology-enabled escalation in Southern Asia and prospects for cooperative risk reduction measures. Ms. Haegeland is a co-editor and author of Investigating Crises: South Asia’s Lessons, Evolving Dynamics, and Trajectories (Stimson, 2018) and her analysis has been featured in a variety of policy outlets including Foreign Affairs and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Prior to joining Sandia, Ms. Haegeland held research and teaching positions in Kathmandu, New Delhi, and Washington, D.C.