Photo: U.S. Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team

October 10-11, 2018

You can register using this link. 

Join us for our Fall Conference. The conference will be held on October 10-11 at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs. Presentations from emerging nuclear experts will cover topics such as nuclear strategies, emerging technology, arms control and proliferation challenges, and deterrence. Our second day will feature an emerging technology break-out scenario.

Featured Keynote: Maj. Gen. Harencak (Retired) Former Commander Air Force Recruitment

We have a hotel block at the Drury Inn Hotel, 1170 InterQuest Parkway. If you would like to stay at the hotel you can do individual reservation. Individual Call-In reservations can be made by reserving online, www.druryhotels.com, then enter Group number of 2352760.  Reservations may also be made by calling 1-800-325-0720 and refer to the Group number of 2352760. 

Individual reservations must be cancelled prior to 12:00 p.m. on the confirmed date of arrival in order to avoid a fee equal to one night’s room rate plus tax. We require a valid credit card and photo ID to be presented at check in. Check In Time: 3:00 p.m. Check Out Time: 11:00 a.m. Arrangements may be made for baggage storage with the Hotel’s front desk staff. The cutoff date for the room block in the hotel is Wednesday, September 26, 2018.

The PONI Conference Series, now in its fifteenth year, is unique in its emphasis on featuring 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.

Draft Agenda*

*Please note this is not a final agenda and some items are subject to change

October 10-11, 2018

Day One: Wednesday, October 10

8:30      Shuttle Departs from Hotel to USAFA

9:00      Conference Check-in

9:15      Conference Welcome

Rebecca Hersman, Director, Project on Nuclear Issues and Senior Adviser, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

9:30       Opening Remarks

Speaker TBD

9:45       Emerging Technology and Strategic Stability     

Panel Moderator: Dr. James Smith, Director, USAF Institute for National Security Studies
Preserving Strategic Stability During the Fourth Revolution
Erin Connolly, Program Assistant, Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation
No Free Launch? Strategic Implications of Command & Control Disruption
Brian Radzinsky, PhD Candidate, George Washington University
The Survivable Second Strike? Emerging Technology and the Undersea Threat Environment
Meyer Thalheimer, PhD Candidate, Columbia University
Increasing Autonomy in the Operation and Maintenance of ICBMs
Jennifer Rogers, Senior System Architect, Northrop Grumman

11:15     Presentation on Nuclear Programs at USAFA
              Dr. James Smith, Director, USAF Institute for National Security Studies

11:30     Break 

11:45    A Mystery Inside an Enigma: Deciphering Russian Nuclear Policy

Panel Moderator: Colonel Russell S. Williford, PhD, Director, Squadron Revitalization, Air Force Strategic Integration Group
Russian Hypersonic Weapons Development: Motivations and Arms Control Implications
Julia Diamond, Research Assistant, Federation of American Scientists
Crime and Punishment: Tailored Responses to Russian Arms Control Violations
Arthur Tellis, Staff Assistant, Cybersecurity and Strategic Forces Subcommittees, U.S. Senate
The Challenges and Implications of Ambiguity in Russian Nuclear Policy and Posture
Maggie Tennis, Research Assistant, Brooking Institution
Nonproliferation: A (Limited) Russian Interest
Cameron Trainer, Research Associate, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
1:15    Lunch

2:30       Nuclear Deterrence: Change and Continuity

Panel Moderator: Erin Simpson, Director, Strategic Analysis, Northrop Grumman
The Resilience of Nuclear Policy Through Administrations
Jillian Maloney, former Nuclear Policy Graduate Fellow, National Nuclear Security Administration
U.S. Missile Defense and the Looming Challenge of U.S. – China Nuclear Stability
Eric Gomez, Policy Analyst, Cato Institute
Space-Based Missile Defense – Who Will Shoot First?
Rachel Webb, Policy Analyst, SAIC

4:30       Reception at Polaris Hall Seminar Rooms & Key Note

Key Note: Maj. Gen. Harencak (retired) Former Commander Air Force Recruitment

5:45       End of Day One/Shuttle Returns to Hotel

Day Two: Thursday, October 11

8:30       Shuttle Departs from Hotel to USAFA

9:00       AFSPC Mission Briefing and Conversation on Missile Warning and Space Operations (Polaris Hall – Main Forum)

10:00     Risky Business
The exercise will examine how the introduction of situational awareness enhancing technology might impact relations                 on the Korean Peninsula.

12:30     Lunch

1:30       Move to Peterson Air and Space Museum

150 Ent Avenue, Peterson AFB, CO 80914

2:00       Tour of Museum

3:30       Depart for USAFA

4:00       End of Conference

 

Please contact Simone Williams at swilliams@csis.org with any questions.