Name: Mike Miller
Home Institution: Stanford University
Major: Physics with honors in International Security

“As a physics major, I became interested in nonproliferation when I was looking for a way to put my scientific knowledge to use in international relations. Studying and understanding nuclear weapons has been fascinating, and I found a good application of my skills while writing a thesis last year on nuclear attribution. I examined the technology behind tracing a nuclear weapon after an explosion, finding that most of the tools have been developed, but they have not been put together in unclassified scientific literature.

This summer, I continued that work, trying to turn my thesis into a shorter paper. I also explored the consequences of a nuclear terrorist attack as part of a chapter on global catastrophic risks and helped with various other research tasks.

Overall, my experience in Monterey has been laid-back and relaxing, with some learning and ample opportunity to explore my own interests. Monterey is a very livable city, and it’s nice to be able to walk everywhere downtown or hop in the car to go up or down the coast or to San Francisco for a weekend.”