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.
2020 PONI VIRTUAL FALL CONFERENCE AGENDA
October 5-7, 2020
Day One: Monday, October 5, 2020
9:00 AM CONFERENCE WELCOME
Rebecca Hersman, Director, Project on Nuclear Issues and Senior Adviser, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
9:10 AM PANEL 1: GENDER REPERSENTATION IN THE NCULEAR FIELD
Panel Moderator: Karim Kamel, Program Analyst, International Peace and Security Program, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Female Leadership in the Global Nuclear Weapons Regime
Jarret Fisher, Graduate Student, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
The Gendered Impacts of Nuclear Weapons: Why Representation Matters
Jasmine Owens, Graduate Student, Middlebury Institute of International Studies
Breaking Barriers: Best Practices for the Advancement and Inclusion of Women in STEMM and National Security
Kimberly Ma, Project Associate, CRDF Global
10:25 BREAK
10:30 KEYNOTE
Brigadier General John R. Edwards, Director, Nuclear Enterprise Directorate, Defense Threat Reduction Agency
12:00 END OF PRESENTATIONS
4:00 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMING
Day Two: Tuesday, October 6, 2020
10:30 PANEL 2: IMPLICATIONS OF SCIENCE AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Panel Moderator: Dr. Jarret Lafleur, Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories
Reexamining the Costs and Benefits of Nuclear Testing In An Era of Great Power Competition
Patty-Jane, Geller, Policy Analyst for Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense, The Heritage Foundation
Implementing Holistic Advanced Manufacturing in the U.S. Nuclear Enterprise
Kathryn Dura, Intelligence Analyst, U.S. Navy
The Implication of UUVs and USVs for Nuclear Submarine Security
Willa Nathan, National Security Analyst, GDIT, U.S. Department of State
Emerging Technologies, Accidents, and Nuclear Risk
Lauren Kahn, Research Fellow, Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania
1:00 PANEL 3: INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Panel Moderator: Stephen Herzog, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom, Harvard University
Assessing China’s Nuclear Doctrine and Forces
Rose Tenyotkin, Associate Research Analyst Center for Naval Analysis
The New U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Race
Akshai Vikram, Former Roger L. Hale Fellow, Ploughshares Fund
Applying Lessons from Cold War Nuclear Risk Reduction Diplomacy to the Space Domain
Max Simon, Program Coordinator and Research Associate, PONI
2:30 END OF PRESENTATIONS
Day Three: Wednesday, October 7, 2020
9:00 INTERACTIVE ACTIVITY: International Crisis War Game
The PONI Team is partnering with the U.S. Naval War College for a Virtual International Crisis Wargame (VICWG). The scenario explores the relationship between new technologies, domestic politics, conventional military capabilities, and nuclear threats. Players will break into groups of five to simulate decision-making roles in a notional cabinet in order to better understand the impact that emerging technologies play in crisis decision-making and how Cold War paradigms of deterrence and crisis escalation apply in a world with new capabilities and vulnerabilities.
12:00 END OF CONFERENCE