This virtual conference will feature two days of presentations from rising experts covering topics such as regional nuclear policy and strategy, arms control and disarmament, proliferation challenges, and deterrence. All participants must pre-register to attend. The PONI Conference Series is unique in its emphasis on incorporating rising experts and young professionals in the nuclear field. The Conference Series draws emerging thought leaders from across the nuclear enterprise and policy community and provides them with a visible platform for sharing their new thinking on a range of nuclear issues. All comments made at the conference are off-the-record. Participants must register for each day separately. 2020 PONI VIRTUAL WINTER CONFERENCE DRAFT AGENDA DECEMBER 9-10, 2020 All Times EST Day One: Wednesday, December 9 9:30 CONFERENCE WELCOME Rebecca Hersman, Director, Project on Nuclear Issues and Senior Adviser, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies 9:45 PANEL 1: DETERRENCE IN ASIA Panel Moderator: Dr. Naoko Aoki, Congressional Fellow and Adjunct Professor at American University Balancing Deterrence and Stability in U.S. Conventional Missile Deployments in Asia Eric Gomez, Director, Defense Policy Studies, Cato Institute India’s Evolving Strategic Forces Tyler Sagerstrom, Research Assistant, South Asia Program, Stimson Center Open Source Analysis & North Korea’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle Jamie Withorne, Research Assistant, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies 11:15 BREAK 11:30 KEYNOTE SPEAKER Discussion and Q&A with Lt. General Scott Kindsvater, Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee moderated by Rebecca Hersman. 1:00 END OF DAY 1 3:00 SOCIAL HOUR: Pandemics, Polarization, and Presidential Transition: Prioritizing US Nuclear Weapons and Nonproliferation Goals in a New Era An informal conversation on agenda-setting in the incoming Biden administration. 4:30 END OF DAY 1 Day Two: Thursday, December 10 10:00 PANEL 2: EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND NUCLEAR RISKS: BALANCING RISKS AND REWARDS Panel Moderator: Dr. Brian Radzinsky, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory New Technical and Geopolitical Realities for the Submarine Deterrent Leah Walker, Defense Technology Associate, Institute for Security and Technology Organizational Challenges to AI Adoption: Implications for Strategic Forces Raymond Wang, Ph.D. Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Emerging Tech and the Threat of Proliferation Chris Meskauskas, Instructor, USAF 11:30 Break 11:45 PANEL 3: ARMS CONTROL AND DETERRENCE STRATEGY Panel Moderator: Dr. Andrew Reddie, Senior Engineer at Sandia National Laboratories and Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley The Conventional Force Perspective: Nuclear Integration In Doctrine, Concepts, and Exercises Adam Saxton, Research Associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies Surveys of Superiority: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of the Nuclear Balance David Logan, PhD Candidate and Fellow, Princeton Atomic Erasure: Visibility and Inclusion in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Virginia Kerr, Master’s Candidate, Middlebury Institute for International Studies Citizen Diplomacy: Exploring the impact of track two dialogues on U.S.-Russia arms control agreements Bernadette Stadler, Master’s Candidate, Harvard University 1:15 CLOSING REMARKS Eric Brewer, Deputy Director Project on Nuclear Issues and Senior Fellow, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies 1:30 OPTIONAL SCREENING: Deterrence 101 – The Foundations of Deterrence