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Archive for category JMCNS

CNS Director speaks in Luxembourg, London, Oxford

Jun 3

Posted by Amy McGill in Achievements, JMCNS | No Comments

CNS Director Bill Potter made the following presentations during the month of May:

1.    Presentation on “Latest Steps in the US-Russian Missile Defense Dance” before the Science and Technology Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Luxembourg, May 19, 2013.

2.    Presentation on “Reevaluating the Health of the NPT in Light of the 2013 NPT PrepCom” at Westminster Palace, Parliament.  The talk was hosted by the Right Honorable Lord Des Browne of Ladyton, European Leadership Network, London, May 21, 2013.

3.    Seminar on the “Assessing the 2013 NPT PrepCom” at St. Anthony’s College, University of Oxford, May 22, 2013.

Potter speaks on nuclear security in Trieste, Vienna

Apr 20

Posted by Amy McGill in Achievements, JMCNS | No Comments

CNS Director Bill Potter delivered two addresses on the first day of the two-week IAEA- sponsored International  School on Nuclear Security  in Trieste, Italy (April 11, 2011).  His talks focused on “International Nuclear Security Threats and Means to Mitigate Them” and “The Potential Consequences of Nuclear Terrorism.”

He served as moderator for the panel on “Nuclear Security Education and Training” at the International Conference on Next Generation Nuclear Security, Vienna (April 13, 2011), a Conference for which he was a co-organizer.

He a was a featured speaker at a seminar on April 14 in Vienna at the Austrian Diplomatic Academy on the theme of “Obama and the Bomb” on the second anniversary of President Obama’s speech in Prague.

Lisa Donahoe Checks In from Azerbaijan

Feb 10

Posted by Amy McGill in JMCNS | No Comments

This semester, Lisa Donahoe has been invited to be a visiting faculty member at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, Baku, Azerbaijan. ADA is an English-medium academy for students earning a masters degree in international relations. Continuing a relationship between ADA and MIIS that began in the fall of 2008, she is teaching Public Speaking to students in the Master of Arts in Diplomacy and International Affairs (MADIA) program. The curriculum for this program was designed by a MATESOL team through Intensive Language programs in 2008-2009. While in Baku, Lisa will continue her duties as Education Associate at CNS, providing the first-ever online English Language and Nonproliferation (ELAN) course using Internet technologies (a combination of Skype and a blog designed specifically for the course). This particular course, English for Nuclear Security: Speaking and Listening, has been designed for scientific faculty at Tomsk Polytechnic University, including some of those who attended the summer 2010 ELAN and Content-Based Instruction Team Teaching courses held in Monterey.

Finally, Lisa is collaborating with two Azerbaijani colleagues on an applied linguistics research project focusing on second languages and post-colonial national identity in the South Caucasus—Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia. She is chronicling her work on her blog, a continuing saga of An English Teacher in the World.

Highlights of Bill Potter’s Recent Japan Trip

Sep 8

Posted by Amy McGill in Achievements, JMCNS | No Comments

CNS Director William Potter presented a paper on “Power and Promise of Disarmament and Nonproliferation Education” at the 2nd United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues in Saitama, Japan (August 25-27).  He also chaired a panel at the same conference on Regional Nuclear and Conventional Arms Issues.  In addition, he was a featured speaker on “Lessons from the 2010 NPT Review Conference” along with the President of the Review Conference at a Symposium on Next Steps toward a World Free of Nuclear Weapons: the 2010 NPT Review Conference and Beyond,  Hitosubashi University, Tokyo, Japan (August 28, 2010).

Russian Nuclear Scientists and English Language Faculty at CNS for Unique CNS-GSTILE Cross-Disciplinary Language and Nonproliferation Program

Aug 6

Posted by Amy McGill in GSTILE, JMCNS | No Comments

Five nuclear scientists and three English language faculty members from Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) in Tomsk, Russia, are taking part in the English Language and Nonproliferation Program (ELAN) for Nuclear Security this summer at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. The scientific faculty for nuclear physics and nuclear materials protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A) are in Monterey to develop English language proficiency in order to enhance communication with their U.S. partners and counterparts in international organizations, including the U.S. Department of Energy and the International Atomic Energy Agency. In August they were joined by their English language colleagues in team-teaching training of content-based instruction for nuclear security.

The project grew out of a proposal developed about two years ago by ELAN project manager Lisa Donohoe and Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education (GSTILE) Professor Peter Shaw.  The Tomsk Polytechnic University graduates go on to work in the control and accounting of fissile materials and physical protection of nuclear facilities in Russia, as well as in international organizations in nuclear energy and require English language skills to be able to follow international regulations, participate in scientific forums, and communicate with colleagues from other countries. After the Monterey proposal was approved by the U.S. Department of Energy, the ELAN project manager conducted a needs assessment at TPU (November 2009) and diagnostic testing (April 2010) which served as the basis and baseline, respectively, for the summer 2010 program, now under way.

During July, the TPU scientists in Monterey not only focused on language proficiency in the area of nuclear science and security, but also heightened their awareness of nuclear safeguards issues and potential threats to nuclear facilities. The August program, with both scientists and English language faculty, is a unique cross-disciplinary effort between CNS and the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education. In that program, led by Professor Peter Shaw, teams of CNS content experts and GSTILE language faculty and instructors will collaborate on the development and delivery of several nonproliferation-targeted content-based instruction lessons for nuclear nonproliferation. During the team-teaching training, the TPU teams of scientific and language faculty will develop curricular goals, lesson plans, and assessment tools for use in English language courses for nuclear security at TPU. The team-teaching training is also intended to provide a train-the-trainers strategy for further content-based English language instruction initiatives at TPU.

Counterfeit Botox Threat Explained by CNS Researchers

May 20

Posted by Amy McGill in JMCNS | No Comments

The June 2010 issue of Scientific America includes a report by James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies scholars on the growing problem of counterfeit Botox distribution.

Ken Coleman and Raymond Zilinskas explain why procuring Botulin neurotoxin (BoNT), a lethal poison, has recently become much easier, as a result of a booming market for counterfeit versions of the beauty product Botox.

Joshi Lectures on Security of Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons

May 11

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On April 22, Sharad Joshi, Visiting Professor, GSIPM and  Research Associate for CNS and MonTREP, gave a lecture titled “Threat to the Crown Jewels: The Security of Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons,” at the Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, University of Pittsburgh.

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U.S., Russian High School Students Tackle Nonproliferation Challenges

May 11

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As posted on the CNS site:

“Students and teachers from 12 U.S. high schools and 10 schools in Russia’s “closed nuclear cities” met together at the 2010 conference of the Critical Issues Forum (CIF) held April 22-23 in Monterey. This year’s conference, the largest since the program began at CNS in 1998, welcomed over 100 participants including 70 students, 30 teachers, and four new high schools from the East Coast, Midwest and Southern California. The topic of this year’s CIF program, “Nuclear Nonproliferation: Global Opportunities and Regional Challenges” reflected the rapid pace of developments in nuclear security over the past few months.”  Read More

Potter Speaks at Harvard, Middlebury and the UN

Apr 28

Posted by Amy McGill in Achievements, JMCNS | No Comments

JMCNS Director William Potter gave a lecture April 27 at the Belfer Center at Harvard University on the topic of “The Road to the 2010 NPT Review Conference: Where Are We?  Where Do We Want to Go?  How Do We Get There?”  Today he is speaking at Middlebury on “The State of the Nonproliferation Regime:  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”  On Friday, April 30, he will deliver at talk at the 2nd International Conference on Nuclear Weapon Free Zones at the United Nations.  The UN talk is entitled: “How to Realize the Promise of Nuclear Weapon Free Zones.”

Potter Article Published in Foreign Policy

Apr 26

Posted by Amy McGill in JMCNS | No Comments

In an essay published by leading journal Foreign Policy, Dr. William Potter, director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), makes the case for a global commitment to nonproliferation education. The recent Nuclear Summit, says Potter, “provided a much-needed clarion call to action, but was imprecise about what needs to be done.”  “What is required,” says Potter, “is a sustained educational effort as part of a broader strategy to build a global community of informed and dedicated specialists. This strategy has governmental, international organizational, academic, and nongovernmental components and requires for its success a partnership among representatives from each of these communities.”