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JANUARY 2011 · Vol 1, Issue 1
News from the NCSU/TISS Energy and Security Initiative |
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| Spring Semester Events |
Friday, January 21
Sean Giovanello, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Elon University, "Challenges and Obstacles to Nuclear Arms Control in the United States."
Caldwell Hall 212 (noon-2:00 PM)
Friday, February 11
Henry Petroski, Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of History, Duke University,
"Failure Analysis and Engineering." Caldwell Hall 212 (noon - 2:00 PM)
Thursday/Friday, March 3 & 4
Conference: "The Energy and Security Nexus: A Strategic Dilemma." Sponsored by the U.S. Army War College, the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, Duke's Program in American Grand Strategy, the Research Triangle Energy Consortium, and NCSU's School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
McKimmon Center, NCSU Campus.
Wednesday, April 13
Patrick Cottrell, Political Science, University of Wisconsin,
"Countdown to Zero: The Dialectic." Caldwell Hall M8
(noon - 2:00 PM)
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| Welcome to the Energy and Security Initiative | |
The Energy and Security Initiative (ESI) which was launched in January 2010, is a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Triangle Institute for Security Studies and North Carolina State University. The goal
is to cross disciplinary divides so as to better understand the complex links between energy and security. Anchored in a program on nuclear security and non-proliferation, ESI plans to broaden the discussion
to include the whole spectrum of energy, from solar and hydro-power to bio-fuels. Better understanding the energy-security nexus is of critical importance. The energy choices we make will have a profound effect on human, national, and collective security. The strategies pursued by other countries in their search for energy security will help shape the future international order. Our own energy security will, in turn, be contingent upon our ability to work within this environment and deal with changing security threats. We invite you to join us in this challenging task.
The Grid is ESI's electronic newsletter. We plan to send it out every few months to keep our members connected, inform them of coming events and relevant research, help students identify opportunities in the field, and report briefly on our activities. We invite you also to consult the TISS web site, where we provide more detailed reports of events.
www.tiss-nc.org
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| Nuclear Security on Campus: INMM |
The Triangle-Area Universities INMM Student Chapter
is an affiliate of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, whose goals include advancing the field
of nuclear materials management through research, education, and public outreach. Topics of interest include issues such as nuclear non-proliferation and safeguards, as well as other fuel cycle-related issues
such as nuclear waste management.
As a student chapter, our goal is to bring together students from a wide variety of backgrounds, including technical experts in engineering and the physical
sciences and students interested in policy. In so doing,
we hope to enrich our interdisciplinary collaborations. As a chapter, our activities include hosting speakers from diverse fields, discussions of current technical
and policy issues pertaining to nuclear materials management, and encouraging collaborative research among students from different fields of study.
All students in the Triangle-area universities are welcome
to join us. For more information, contact chapter president Steve Skutnik (seskutni@ncsu.edu).
INMM on the web:
http://www.inmm.org
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| Faculty Profiles |
 Dr. Man-sung Yim, Nuclear Engineering
Dr. Yim is a Professor of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University. Dr. Yim will be offering a class titled Nuclear Nonproliferation and Safeguards Technology and Policy in the spring of 2011. This is the second time Dr. Yim has taught this class which attempts to look at the problem of nuclear proliferation from both an international relations and a scientific perspective. This semester he will be opening the class up to graduate and undergraduate students from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) and the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA). Students will work in mixed groups of engineering and policy students to complete two proliferation case studies. These case studies will examine specific countries nuclear proliferation activities from the standpoint of demand for nuclear weapons, primarily driven by international relations, and the supply of such weapons, driven by technological innovation and transfer. The class also includes a fully paid trip to Oak Ridge National Laboratory where students will get to do hands-on experiments.
Dr. Yim's work has been important in bringing engineering and policy students together to work collaboratively on the issue of nuclear security. His non-proliferation class, along with other initiatives, such as his assistance in the creation of a student chapter of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM), seek to bridge the gap between the engineering community and
the policy community at NC State. In order to make progress on this security issue of vital importance for the 21st century it is essential that future policy makers understand the science behind nuclear proliferation and that future nuclear engineers understand the policy implications
of their science. Collaborative learning experiences are a critical element in fostering this comprehensive approach to nuclear security.
Email: yim@ncsu.edu
 Dr. Bill Boettcher, Political Science
Dr. Boettcher is a Professor of Political Science at North Carolina State University. He teaches an undergraduate class on National Security (PS 431), as well as a graduate level class entitled: Global Problems and Policy (PS 533). Both of these classes feature a nuclear proliferation component which allows Dr. Boettcher to bring in nuclear engineering experts from both the Department of Engineering at NCSU and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Dr. Boettcher is the main point of contact for the Energy and
Security Initiative in the Political Science Department at NC State.
In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Boettcher is also assisting a mixed team of policy and engineering undergraduates who are working on a Global Team Research Project focused on nuclear non-proliferation, with funding provided by a grant from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The project seeks to understand current counter-proliferation policies and suggest new or revised policies that will be more effective in countering nuclear proliferation. Students will present a research report to
a regional conference in the spring. Additionally, the group will travel to Washington D.C. where
they will visit the National Nuclear Security Administration's offices within the Department of Energy and think tanks dealing with nonproliferation policy. This project furthers the main goal of the
Energy and Security Initiative by teaching students from political science about the technical
hurdles states must overcome to master the nuclear fuel cycle, while exposing nuclear engineering students to the policy process that produces counter-proliferation programs.
Email: william_boettcher@ncsu.edu
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| Meet the ESI Staff and Volunteers |
Matthew "Clark" Letterman is the ESI Program Assistant at NCSU. He is a 2nd-year student in the Master's of International Studies Program where he is focusing on political violence and Middle Eastern studies. Within ESI Clark assists with event logistics and creates content for the ESI newsletter. He is very excited about going to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and handling plutonium, which he has been told is not dangerous -- however, as a poli-sci student he has no way of knowing whether or not this is true! Contact: mcletter@ncsu.eduCarolyn Pumphrey is Coordinator for the Triangle Institute for Security Studies (TISS), a consortium of Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University. She also teaches in
the History Department at NC State. As TISS coordinator, she is responsible for organizing
events, editing books, grant-writing, networking, and public engagement. She has been deeply involved with the ESI initiative since its start. Her interest in this topic was stimulated by 2007 TISS/AWC conference on the national security implications of global climate change and fueled
by a fascination with the great warming of the eleventh century. Contact: pumphrey@duke.edu Arne Plum is one of a number of graduate and undergraduate students who have helped us in
our efforts by giving of their time. A native of Berlin, Arne hopes to become a journalist, and has agreed to serve as official "rapporteur" at our nuclear lunches. His articles will appear on the
TISS web site. His first article article can be found on the tiss web site: http://sanford.duke.edu/centers/tiss/programs/PlumDunlap.php
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| Events From Last Semester |
Last semester The Energy and Security Initiative held a series of Friday luncheons and a workshop focusing on nuclear security. Monday, September 13 Workshop: Securing our Nuclear Future, NCSU/TISS Energy and Security Initiative.
Cosponsors: Duke CIBER, UNC Chapel-Hill, Environmental Sciences and Engineering.
Nuclear power promises relief to a world in search of clean energy. Thus far, despite fears to the contrary, the growth of civilian nuclear power has not directly translated into the proliferation
of nuclear weapons. However, as we move into the second decade of the twenty-first century, we face new challenges, in particular those generated by globalization. This conference brought together experts from the government, business and academia (engineers, scientists, social scientists, and historians) to consider not only how threats have been complicated and changed by globalization, but how we might harness this same environment to find new answers to our problems. It was a stimulating event, which resulted wide-ranging discussion. Friday, September 10 Matt Fuhrman, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina, "Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation." Dr. Fuhrman, who is also a Nuclear Security Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, discussed the dangers of civilian nuclear cooperation. This perspective, which rejects the traditional "atoms for peace" approach codified in the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, provoked lively discussion amongst those in attendance. Friday, October 15 Paula Cable-Dunlap, Forensics Portfolio Manager, Global Security and Nonproliferation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, "Nuclear Forensics." Tracking nuclear material based on its distinctive signature, or "fingerprint," is a potentially
powerful tool in nonproliferation efforts. Dr. Dunlap offered an introduction to this relatively new field of nuclear forensics as well as her teams work at Oak Ridge National Laboratories which revolves around three simple questions. "What do they have? Where did they get it from? How can we stop it?" Friday, November 12 David Schanzer, Director, UNC-Duke Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, "Terrorism and Nuclear Security." Dr. Schanzer explored the inherent problems associated with risk analysis for low-probability high-impact events such as nuclear terrorism. This led to a discussion of the merits of various defensive strategies designed to prevent nuclear terrorism, ranging from static defenses to aggressive intelligence operations and interdiction. This topic was extremely prescient in light of current security concerns surrounding packages and international shipping.
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| Energy and Security Conferences |
Please mark your calendars for two exciting events on "Energy and Security." One of these is our very own ESI conference, which will be held on the NCSU campus in early March. The other is a conference to be held at Duke University which will focus more particularly on the U-S. Canadian energy relationship.
E & S: The Energy and Security Nexus: A Strategic Dilemma March 3-4, 2011
McKimmon Center, Raleigh
Cosponsored by TISS, the US Army War College, the Research Triangle Energy Consortium, Duke's Program in American Security Studies, and NCSU's College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, this event will bring together technical experts and foreign policy experts from academia and government.
The goal of this conference is to heighten awareness of the vital connections between energy
and security. The energy choices we make will have a profound effect on human, national, and collective security. The strategies pursued by other countries in their search for energy security
will help shape the future international order. And our own energy security in turn will be contingent upon our ability to work within this environment and deal with changing security threats. The conference will begin by examining how the search for energy (historically fossil fuels, but now increasingly alternative energy) shapes the security environment at every level. It will go on to consider how the security environment affects our ability to secure energy. And it will conclude by thinking about how we can best resolve the energy and security dilemma.
It is free and open to the public. Students are warmly encouraged to come.
Registration will open at the end of this month (See the TISS web site)
For more details and updates on schedule, registration, and other information, go to:
http://sanford.duke.edu/centers/tiss/programs/EnergyandSecurityConference.php
The Duke conference is titled "Power, Pipelines and Petroleum: The U.S.-Canada Energy Relationship." It will be held on April 13, 2011at the Fuqua School of Business and the R. David Conference Center in Durham, North Carolina.
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| Fellowship Opportunities |
The Breakthrough Generation is soliciting applications from students for a fellowship (2011). The Institute is a think tank known for its pioneering climate and energy work. Each summer highly competitive, paid fellowships are offered to recent grads, grad students, and exceptional undergrads from around the world in an effort to foster future analysts, writers, and though leaders. Applications must be received by March 14, 2011. See fellows@thebreakthrough.org MORE INFO at http://thebreakthrough.org/youth.shtml
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 Carolyn Pumphrey, Ph.D. NCSU/TISS Energy and Security Initiative ESI is a cooperative effort between NCSU and TISS. Its offices are located at TISS headquarters NCSU/TISS energy and Security Initiative (ELI)
132 Rubenstein Hall, 302 Towerview Drive, Duke University
Durham, NC 27708-0316 Phone: 919-613-9280 FAX: 919-684-9940
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