2012 FAS Symposium and Awards Ceremony 

Preventing Catastrophic Threats

Policy recommendations made by the panelists at the 2012 FAS Symposium on Catastrophic Threats have been compiled into a report that can be read online. Read the report (PDF).

Only three days after the national election, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is hosting a day-long symposium that features distinguished speakers who will present recommendations to the new administration on how to respond to catastrophic threats to national security. Distinguished experts will address the policy and technological aspects of conventional, nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, biotechnology, nuclear safety, electricity generation, distribution, and storage, and cyber security. At the symposium, these experts will present their recommendations for preventing and reducing risks from catastrophic threats, and for developing an effective energy policy.

The event will also feature an awards ceremony luncheon to recognize outstanding people who have made a distinctive contribution to national security. Dr. John Ahearne will be honored with the 2012 Richard L. Garwin Award, Dr. Sidney Drell will receive the 2012 Public Service Award, and Dr. Rosa Ovshinsky will accept the 2012 Hans Bethe Award on behalf of the late Mr. Stanford Ovshinsky. Dr. Drell will share the honor of the Public Service Award with Dr. Henry Kissinger, Senator Sam Nunn, Dr. William J. Perry, and Mr. George P. Shultz.

How do we educate and engage policy makers and the public about nuclear security and arms control issues? Be part of the conversation and the solution!

• Submit questions via Facebook and Twitter. Follow the conversation with the hashtag #FASevent.
• Watch the webcast of the event (link will be posted here).  
• Sign up for email updates.

Press: To interview FAS President Charles D. Ferguson, please contact Monica Amarelo at 202-454-4680 or mamarelo@fas.org.

Speakers

John Ahearne Duke University	Kennette Benedict Bulletin of Atomic Scientists	Charles Blair Federation of American Scientists	Sidney Drell SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
David Franz Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs	Charles D. Ferguson Federation of American Scientists	Richard L. Garwin IBM	Steve Koonin New York University's Center for Urban Science and Progress
Hans Kristensen Federation of American Scientists	Robert Standish Norris Federation of American Scientists	Matt Schroeder Federation of American Scientists	Marina Abrams Global Green USA

Moderators

Siobhan Gorman  Wall Street Journal

David Hoffman Washington Post/Foreign Policy

Miles O'Brien PBS NewsHour

Master of Ceremonies

Joseph Cirincione Ploughshares Fund

Register

Register here for the FAS Symposium on Preventing Catastrophic Threats and the 2012 FAS Awards.

Contact Katie Colten with questions at kcolten@fas.org or 202-454-4694.

Space is limited. Please RSVP by November 2, 2012. 

Schedule

Click a speaker's name to view his or her presentation slides, if available.

9:00 a.m.     Coffee, Continental Breakfast and Registration

9:30 a.m.      Nuclear Weapons Panel

MODERATOR: Mr. David Hoffman, Contributing Editor,Washington Post

• Dr.  Robert Stan Norris, Senior Fellow for Nuclear Policy, Federation of American Scientists
• Dr. Richard Garwin, IBM Fellow Emeritus, Thomas J. Watson Research Center
• Mr. Hans Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear Information Project, Federation of American Scientists
• Mr. Charles Blair, Senior Fellow on State and Non- State Threats, Federation of American Scientists
• Dr. Sid Drell, Deputy Director Emeritus, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

11:30 a.m.     Break

12:00 p.m.   FAS Awards Luncheon

Master of Ceremonies: Mr. Joe Cirincione, President, Ploughshares Fund

• Dr. John Ahearne, Richard L. Garwin Award
• Dr. Rosa Ovshinsky, accepting Hans Bethe Award on behalf of Dr. Stanford Ovshinsky
• Dr. Sidney Drell, FAS Public Service Award

2:00 p.m.     Biological, Chemical, Conventional and Cyber Threats Panel

MODERATOR: Ms. Siobhan Gorman, Intelligence Reporter, Wall Street Journal

• Dr.  Kennette Benedict, Executive Director, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
• Mr. Matt Schroeder, Director of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project, Federation of American Scientists
• Ms. Marina Voronova-Abrams, Program Associate, Global Green USA
• Dr. David Franz, Senior Advisor (Biosecurity Engagement) to the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs

3:30 p.m.      Break

3:45 p.m.      Energy and Infrastructure Panel

MODERATOR: Mr. Miles O’Brien, Science Correspondent, PBS Newshour

• Dr. John Ahearne, Former NRC Commissioner, Adjunct Scholar for Resources for the Future and Adjunct Professor of Engineering at Duke University
• Dr. Steve Koonin, Former Undersecretary for Science and Technology, Department of Energy, Director of New York University’s Center for Urban Science and Progress
• Dr. Charles Ferguson, President, Federation of American Scientists

5:30 p.m.      Symposium Concludes

6:00-7:30 p.m.       Reception

View the transcript of Senator Nunn's remarks here (PDF).

The transcript of Dr. Drell's remarks can be found here (PDF).

FAS promotes a safer and more secure world by advancing solutions to important science and technology policy problems by educating the public and policy makers, and promoting transparency through research and analysis to maximize the impact on policy.

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