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X-WR-CALNAME:Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction
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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20241004
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20241005
DTSTAMP:20260415T181815
CREATED:20240924T172704Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241024T143301Z
UID:3101-1728000000-1728086399@physicistscoalition.org
SUMMARY:Reforming Nuclear Weapons policy\, Plutonium Problems\, and How Physicists Can Help | Simon Fraser University
DESCRIPTION:Colloquium Abstract: Physicists invented nuclear weapons over seventy-five years ago. Today\, they still threaten humanity with catastrophe and\, recently\, this risk has been increasing. The US has over 1\,500 deployed nuclear weapons plus thousands more inactive or retired. Current policy calls for maintaining and “modernizing” about 4\,000 nuclear warheads and their delivery vehicles\, at the cost of several tens of billions of dollars per year and significant risks to the environment and public health. Physicists can play an important role in providing scientific oversight and advocating for reform. I will discuss issues associated with plutonium pit production as a case study. \nFurther details on the plutonium pit issue: Modern thermonuclear weapons contain plutonium pits\, which are hollow spherical shells of plutonium metal\, as part of their fission triggers. These pits are inherently difficult\, costly and hazardous to produce. The Rocky Flats pit production plant\, near Denver\, Colorado\, was closed because of environmental infractions in 1992. Since then\, pit production expertise has been maintained at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Current US policy calls for the production of 80 pits per year by 2030\, despite the National Nuclear Security Administration (within the Department of Energy) acknowledging that this is unachievable. Furthermore\, the justification for this production goal is controversial\, as is the construction of a new production facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina\, which is to cost over ten billion dollars and will pose significant risks to the surrounding community. The public deserves better and more transparent study of the policy options. \nSpeaker: Dr. Curtis Asplund
URL:https://physicistscoalition.org/events/colloquium-on-nuclear-threat-reduction-simon-fraser-university/
CATEGORIES:Colloquia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20241004
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20241005
DTSTAMP:20260415T181815
CREATED:20240924T175623Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240924T175623Z
UID:3110-1728000000-1728086399@physicistscoalition.org
SUMMARY:The Growing Danger of Nuclear Weapons (and What Physicists Can do About it) | University of Manitoba
DESCRIPTION:Colloquium Abstract  \nThe world is in a precarious place right now and nuclear risk is higher than it has been in decades. The war in Ukraine has brought latent fears about nuclear war back to the surface. In recent years\, the US has withdrawn from several arms control agreements that constrained US and Russian arsenals\, and the last remaining treaty with Russia expires in 2026. Both the US and Russia are engaged in building a new generation of nuclear weapons. Physicists were\, and still are\, key actors in the nuclear weapons enterprise. From the very beginning of the nuclear weapons story\, physicists have engaged policymakers about nuclear dangers and advocated for policies to reduce them. Given the growing risks\, physicists need to renew their role in educating the public and policymakers. \n  \nSpeaker \nTara Drozdenko
URL:https://physicistscoalition.org/events/the-growing-danger-of-nuclear-weapons-and-what-physicists-can-do-about-it-university-of-manitoba/
CATEGORIES:Colloquia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20241008
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20241009
DTSTAMP:20260415T181815
CREATED:20240924T174439Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240924T174439Z
UID:3103-1728345600-1728431999@physicistscoalition.org
SUMMARY:U.S. Missile Defense Programs  | Illinois State University
DESCRIPTION:Title: U.S. Missile Defense Programs: A Case Study in the Interaction of Science\, Technology\, and Public Policy\n\n\nAbstract\nDuring the past 70 years\, the United States has spent $400 billion on ballistic missile defense\, mostly on systems intended to intercept nuclear-armed intercontinental-range missiles that might be launched against the United States. But would these systems be able to defend effectively against an attack by such missiles? As I will describe\, despite decades of effort\, no missile defense system thus far developed has been shown to be effective against realistic ICBM threats. (ICBMs are ballistic missiles with a range of more than 3\,500 nautical miles.) In particular\, the capabilities of the current U.S. systems intended to defend against the nuclear-armed ICBMs that North Korea has deployed are relatively low\, and are likely to remain low for at least the next 15 years. The ability of these systems to defend against the ICBMs deployed by Russia and China is even less. Despite the ineffectiveness of these systems\, their existence—and proposals for new defensive systems—have spurred the deployment by U.S. adversaries of new nuclear weapons designed to overcome them. I will discuss how scientists and the general public can help address this danger.\n\n\nAbout the speaker\n\n\n\n\n\nFrederick Lamb is a Research Professor of Physics and of Astronomy\, the Brand and Monica Fortner Chair of Theoretical Astrophysics Emeritus\, and a core faculty member in the Arms Control and Domestic & International Security Program at the University of Illinois. An expert on space policy\, ballistic missiles and missile defenses\, and the technical aspects of nuclear test bans\, he has been a consultant to the Defense Department\, national laboratories\, and Congressional committees. He co-chaired the American Physical Society’s 2003 study of boost-phase missile defense and is chairing its current study of missile defenses. The current focus of his scientific research is high-energy and relativistic astrophysics and dense matter. He is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the APS. He shared the 2005 Leo Szilard Award of the APS for his leadership of the 2003 study of missile defense and received the 2021 APS Five Sigma Physicist Award for his leadership of the current study. He shared the 2022 Bruno Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society for his contributions to the success of NASA’s NICER X-ray astronomy mission. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFor more biographical information\, see https://physics.illinois.edu/people/directory/profile/fkl
URL:https://physicistscoalition.org/events/u-s-missile-defense-programs-illinois-state-university/
CATEGORIES:Colloquia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20241022
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20241023
DTSTAMP:20260415T181815
CREATED:20240724T202330Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241024T142805Z
UID:3054-1729555200-1729641599@physicistscoalition.org
SUMMARY:Nuclear Fusion | Colloquium at Illinois State University
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Dr. Stewart Prager \nThis talk is part of the Twelve Thousand Bombs seminar series. \nThe series on nuclear weapons included four eminent scholars and public figures speaking at ISU. The series\, sponsored by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies\, was inaugurated in 2023 and aims to raise awareness of nuclear weapons issues in the Bloomington-Normal community. \n“Nuclear weapons will be on everyone’s radar this election cycle as Americans assess the fitness of the candidates to exercise the president’s nuclear authority\,” according to Dr. Matt Caplan\, the series organizer and professor in the Department of Physics. “With the U.S. preparing to spend $1.5 trillion modernizing its arsenal\, nuclear weapons policy may be a defining feature of the next president’s administration. This is not an issue that can be overlooked this election.”
URL:https://physicistscoalition.org/events/colloquium-at-illinois-state-university/
CATEGORIES:Colloquia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20241023
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20241024
DTSTAMP:20260415T181815
CREATED:20240731T143353Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241024T143032Z
UID:3062-1729641600-1729727999@physicistscoalition.org
SUMMARY:Actionable Ideas for Nuclear Threat Reduction | University of Alabama
DESCRIPTION:Abstract \nIn this talk\, I will give a brief overview of the resurgent role of nuclear weapons in national security strategies\, the threat that they pose to the public\, and potential risk mitigation approaches. Recent events\, including the U.S. withdrawal from arms control treaties and the pursuit of new nuclear weapons capabilities in the nine nuclear weapons states\, suggest we may be facing a revived nuclear arms race with its dangerous consequences. In this context\, during the past three years\, a group of US physical scientists has held more than 100 colloquia on nuclear weapons\, reaching more than 4\,000 attendees\, and recruited over 850 scientists to the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction through which scientists educate themselves and then help educate Congress about the renewed risks of nuclear war and the possibilities for reducing those risks. Members have engaged in several advocacy campaigns aimed at reducing the threat of nuclear weapons by preventing the resumption of explosive nuclear testing\, extending the New START treaty\, and promoting the adoption of a no-first-use policy. \nSpeaker: Dr. Angela Di Fulvio
URL:https://physicistscoalition.org/events/university-of-alabama/
CATEGORIES:Colloquia
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