Ariel (Phantitra) Phuphaphantakarn is an IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie scholar in Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and a Graduate Research Assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). Ariel is a non-resident Vasey Fellow with Pacific Forum, an Indo-Pacific Maritime GENIE Fellow at YCAPS, and was a 2024 summer fellow at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Ariel’s past research included nuclear strategy and policy in relation to quantum technology, escalation management, undersea deterrence, integrated deterrence, and strategic empathy. Her thesis examines AI’s implications in nuclear domains, focusing on risk identification and challenges concerning the two near-peer competitors. Ariel has received multiple scholarships and has been invited to speak on nuclear issues at events such as the Alva Myrdal Annual Conference, CSIS PONI Fall Conference, and the EUNPDC next generation workshop. Additionally, she is selected to serve in the role of the Chair at the NPT simulation class led by Dr. William C. Potter (CNS director).

Captain Adam Reynolds is an Army FA52 Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Officer. He is currently assigned to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency as a Program Manager working to provide cloud-ready nuclear modeling interfaces and applications for the Department of Defense. He commissioned from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2017 with a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering. Additionally, he holds a M.S. degree in Nuclear Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He previously served as an Aviation Officer, piloting the AH-64E Apache in Camp Humphreys, South Korea. CPT Reynolds is currently interested in artificial intelligence’s future role in NC3 and its impact on strategic deterrence.

Philipp G. Rombach is a Research Associate at the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. At LLNL, his research explores issues of space deterrence and inadvertent escalation in an increasingly contested space domain. Previously, he pursued an MA in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, where he focused on security studies and the nexus between emerging technologies and nuclear deterrence. For his master’s thesis, he conducted an elite survey examining the perceived impacts of artificial intelligence on nuclear strategic stability. Philipp earned a BSc and MSc in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from Technical University of Munich while simultaneously obtaining a BA in Political Science and Economics from Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. Philipp was born and raised in the Black Forest mountains outside of Freiburg, Germany, and is dedicated to deepening transatlantic relations.