Ferguson,  Charles D. 

Full Name:  Ferguson,  Charles D. 

Program Name: FAS

Title: President

Phone Number: 202-546-3300

Fax: 202-675-1010

Email: cferguson (at) fas.org

Biography

Charles D. Ferguson has been the president of the Federation of American Scientists since January 1, 2010.

Ten years ago, Dr. Ferguson worked for FAS on nuclear proliferation and arms control issues as a senior research analyst and director of the nuclear policy project. 

Asked about his decision to accept the position, Dr. Ferguson said, “I feel profoundly honored to be asked to work with FAS’s immensely talented and dedicated staff and membership. I am committed to leading FAS to become the preeminent non-governmental organization devoted to science and security.”  

At the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), he most recently served as the project director of the Independent Task Force on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy, chaired by William J. Perry and Brent Scowcroft. In addition to his work at CFR where he specialized in arms control, climate change, energy policy, and nuclear and radiological terrorism.

Previously, from 2002 to 2004, Dr. Ferguson had been with the Monterey Institute’s Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) as its scientist-in-residence. At CNS, he co-authored the book The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism and was also lead author of the award-winning report “Commercial Radioactive Sources: Surveying the Security Risks,” which was published in January 2003 and was one of the first post-9/11 reports to assess the radiological dispersal device, or “dirty bomb,” threat. This report won the 2003 Robert S. Landauer Lecture Award from the Health Physics Society.  

Dr. Ferguson also has consulted with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. From 2000 to 2002, he served as a physical scientist in the Office of the Senior Coordinator for Nuclear Safety at the U.S. Department of State, where he helped develop U.S. government policies on nuclear safety and security issues.  

After graduating with distinction from the United States Naval Academy, he served as an officer on a fleet ballistic missile submarine and studied nuclear engineering at the Naval Nuclear Power School. 

Dr. Ferguson has written numerous articles on energy policy, missile defense, nuclear arms control, nuclear energy, nuclear proliferation, and nuclear terrorism. He has also authored or coauthored several peer-reviewed scientific articles and published in top physics journals. And in October 2008, he was named by Wired magazine as one of the “Fifteen People the Next President Should Listen To.” 

He is the Co-Chairman of the U.S.-Japan Nuclear Working Group.  

Dr. Ferguson received his undergraduate degree in physics from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, also in physics, from Boston University in Massachusetts.

To interview FAS President Dr. Charles D. Ferguson, please contact TEL 202-546-3300 or press@fas.org.  

2013:

May: FAS Issue Brief, "Regulating Japanese Nuclear Power in the Wake of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident"

2012:

September 17:Science and Diplomacy, "Building a New Foundation with Yemen"
April 18: Kyodo News, "OPINION - Right Approach to Diplomacy with North Korea"
March: USKI Working Paper Series, US-Korea Institute at SAIS: Johns Hopkins University, "Ensuring the Security of Radioactive Sources: National and Global Responsibilities" 
March 15: The National Interest, "Nuclear Power's Uncertain Future"
February 29: Nieman Watchdog, "So Many Questions About Nuclear Power"
February 27:The Burn Blog (curated by UT Austin), "Response: Make Nuclear Power More Efficient and Cost Competitive with Natural Gas"
January 13: The Atlantic, "Killing Iranian Nuclear Scientists Is Counterproductive and Wrong"

2011:

November: Foreign Policy, "Think Again: Nuclear Power"
October 6: FAS Special Report, "Towards Enhanced Safeguards for Iran's Nuclear Program"
September 29: International Herald Tribune, "An Iran Offer Worth Considering"
September 13: The Atlantic, "On Iran's Nuclear Program, Science Contradicts Rhetoric" 
July 1: U.S. News & World Report, "U.S. Must Learn From Japan's Nuclear Crisis"
May: Oxford University Press, "Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know"
April 15: Guatemala Times, "Pools of Danger"
March 30: The Hill, Kyl Should Reconsider Opposition To Nuclear Test Ban
March 23: Nature, Do Not Phase Out Nuclear Power -- Yet
March 16: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, The Need For a Resilient Energy Policy in Japan
March 15: Kyodo News, OPINION: Future of Nuclear Power in Japan - Advice from American Friend
March 11: Foreign Policy, A Radioactive Situation, Japan's earthquake could shake public trust in the safety of nuclear power.
March: Arms Control Today, Steps Toward a Deal on Enhanced Safeguards for Iran's Nuclear Program

2010:

November 8: Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Next Customer, Please: The Risk in Conventional Arms Sales Along With Nuclear Energy Deals
September 23: Nature, A U.S. Nuclear Future? 
Strategic Asia 2010 - 2011, The Implications of Expanded Nuclear Energy in Asia
May 4: Forbes, Controlling Asia's Nuclear Tigers
January/February: Foreign Affairs, The Long Road to Zero - Overcoming the Obstacles to a Nuclear-Free World  

2009:
Fall: Defense Against Terrorism Review, Vol.2, No.2, Assessing Radiological Weapons: Attack Methods and Estimated Effects 

In the News:

Watch Nuclear Aftershocks on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

2011 April 1, “Iran’s Nuclear Program: Can an Inspections-Based Solution Work?” 

Testimony:
2010 May 19, House Committee on Science and Technology: Charting the Course for American Nuclear Technology and the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap 

Multimedia:
2012 March 9 Nuclear Energy Guide (update)