FAS Events

FAS Awards

The FAS Awards Program recognizes talented scientists and distinguished experts with three awards. FAS gives out the FAS Public Service Award, FAS Hans Bethe Award, FAS Richard L. Garwin Award. Past recipients include the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Dr. Richard Garwin, Dr. Carl Sagan, Dr. Phillip Morrison, the Honorable John Holdren and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.

2012 November 9: Symposium on Preventing Catastrophic Threats

On November 9, 2012, just three days after the national election, FAS will host a day-long symposium that features distinguished speakers who will recommend to the new administration how to respond to catastrophic threats to national security. Policy and technological issues include conventional, nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons; biotechnology; nuclear safety; electricity generation, distribution, and storage; and cyber security.

2012 October 29: Iran and Global Economy

FAS will release a report on "Sanctions, Military Strikes, and other Potential U.S. Actions against Iran: Assessing their Impact on the Global Economy." The event will take place from 12 - 2:00 pm EDT in the Kenney Auditorium of the School of Advanced International Studiesat Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC.

2012 October 18: 50th Anniversary of Cuban Missile Crisis

On October 18, 2012, FAS will host a briefing on Capitol Hill in the Rayburn House Office Building by Dr. Martin Hellman, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, and FAS President Charles Ferguson. Dr. Hellman will discuss his recent report, Fifty Years After the Cuban Missile Crisis: Time to Stop Bluffing at Nuclear Poker, which was co-published by FAS and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

2012 August 14: Energy Use and Measurement

Can you imagine how much oil is in 30 billion barrels? How about in one trillion U.S. gallons? Dr. Ripudaman Malhotra, Associate Director of the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory at SRI International, put energy use into perspective at a briefing hosted by FAS on Tuesday, August 14, 2012. The cubic mile of oil (CMO) is a convenient unit of energy used to express global and national productions and consumption. How much energy is in a cubic mile of oil? The current global consumption of oil is about one cubic mile.

2012 July 10: Innovations in Nuclear Waste Management

FAS and The Heritage Foundation hosted a briefing on nuclear waste management. Topics discussed included: the gap between the report released by the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future and future implementation legislation, methods of spent nuclear fuel management and their political implications, a market-based approach to management of spent nuclear fuel, and international implications of the U.S. solving its spent fuel management program.

2012 June 26: Oversight of Biodefense Research

Dr. Matthew Meselson, a renowned expert in chemical and biological defense and arms control, discussed the need for increased oversight of U.S. biodefense research and the benefits this could provide to the international community.

2012 June 7: Increasing Nuclear Transparency With Satellite Imagery

Access to commercial high-resolution satellite imagery allow analysts to monitor and profile nuclear weapons and facilities in ways that were inconceivable only a short time ago. New software freely available on the Internet further enables analysts to improve the visualization of complex security issues. A few years ago, such capabilities were only available to government officials with Top Secret clearance. All this has changed and continues to change as new tools become available to non-governmental analysts.

2012 June 5: Nuclear Detection

FAS hosted a briefing on U.S. efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism. Dr. Huban Gowadia, Deputy Director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) at the Department of Homeland Security, will provide a briefing on "the Revolution in Nuclear Detection Affairs" and discuss U.S. nuclear detection programs to combat the threat of nuclear attack.

2012 May 8 - 9: Bridging the Generational Divide in Nuclear Security

The Federation of American Scientists is using innovative technologies and social media to attract young scientists and engineers to nuclear security issues. A panel of experts spoke about how to bridge the divide and attract the next generation of nuclear policy analysts.

2012 May 3: Capital Hill Briefing on Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons

An FAS Special Report on Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons was published three weeks before 28 NATO member countries convened in Chicago in May 2012 to approve the conclusions of a year-long Deterrence and Defense Posture Review (DDPR). Among other issues, the review determined the role of the U.S. non-strategic nuclear weapons deployed in Europe and how NATO might work to reduce its nuclear posture as well as Russia's inventory of such weapons in the future.

2012 February 8: FAS Awards Ceremony

On Wednesday, February 8, 2012, FAS hosted the FAS Awards Ceremony at the Carnegie Institution for Science. FAS presented the 2011 Hans Bethe Award to the Honorable Steven Chu, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, and the inaugural 2011 Richard L. Garwin Award to Dr. Richard A. Meserve, president of the Carnegie Institution for Science.

2011 October 12: Enhanced Safeguards for Iran's Nuclear Program

Dr. Charles D. Ferguson, President of the Federation of American Scientists, and Dr. Ali Vaez, Director of the Iran Project, are the authors of a new FAS report which offers options for enhanced safeguards to ensure that the Iranian nuclear program remains peaceful. Dr. Ferguson and Dr. Vaez will discuss elements of the Iranian nuclear program which would be acceptable for all sides involved in the debate (Iran, Russia, the United States and the International Atomic Energy Association), and what diplomatic initiatives should be undertaken to achieve a peaceful resolution to the nuclear crisis.

2011 July 19: NATO’s Nuclear Future

NATO’s Nuclear Future: The Alliance’s Posture Review, Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons in Europe and Arms Control. Director of the Nuclear Information Project Hans M. Kristensen is a panelist on the future of NATO’s nuclear posture and the prospects for addressing non-strategic nuclear weapons through arms control. He will discuss NATO’s nuclear posture and arms control possibilities.

2011 June 29: Growing Terrorist Threat to Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal

Charles P. Blair, director of the Terrorism Analysis Project, will release a new FAS report on why the Pakistani Neo-Taliban is the most worrisome terrorist group capable of acquiring nuclear weapons. Joining Mr. Blair will be Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project. Mr. Kristensen will discuss developments in Pakistan's production of fissile materials and nuclear weapons.

2011 June 8: Missile Defense Shield

FAS hosted a Capitol HIll Briefing by Dr. Yousaf Butt, Scientific Consultant to FAS, and Dr. Theodore Postol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a new technical assessment of the Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) missile defense system proposed by NATO and the United States to protect U.S. and European interests from ballistic missile attacks by Iran. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed strong concerns over this shield and has warned of a return to Cold War tensions.

2011 June 2: Conversation on Science and Security

FAS experts met with business leaders to hear concerns about cyber security, nuclear power, nuclear security, terrorism, and natural catastrophes like solar flares. The event was held at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton, CA.

2011 May 25: Spent Nuclear Fuel

A report release with co-authors Charles D. Ferguson, Clifford E. Singer, Jack Spencer, and Sharon Squassoni. Fifty years after nuclear reactors first produced electricity, a comprehensive approach to spent nuclear fuel management continues to elude U.S. elected officials, government officials, and private owners.

2011 April 11: Implications of the Fukushima Accident

FAS hosted a Capitol Hill briefing by Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. Mr. Sokolski discussed the implications of the Fukushima accident for the global expansion of nuclear power. In the presentation, Mr. Sokolski emphasized that nuclear safety must come first.

2010 November 15: Next Steps for Nuclear Disarmament and Security

FAS and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs hosted a breakfast roundtable discussion on "New Realities and Next Steps for Nuclear Disarmament and Security: U.S. and European Perspectives." After the mid-term elections, the Obama administration is pushing for the Senate to ratify the New START U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control treaty. The previous START Treaty expired in 2009.